Gravity is a Bitch
by jenson40
Summary: What goes up must come down eventually. Or an AU where maybe something more happened in Philadelphia than we were lead to believe, and 17 years later Rory must deal with the repercussions. Future Lit. Hints at Java Junkie.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So let's try another multichip, right? Yeah sure whatever, but knowing my track record this will take forever, so y'all better be ready for the long ride ahead. Anyway, thanks all y'all who read Making Plans, and I hope you like this one too!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _Desperation  
There's danger in frustration  
Complicated words slippin' off of your tongue and ain't one of them the truth  
I'm still desperate for you_

 _-"Desperation" Miranda Lambert_

Lilly marched into the diner with a purpose. She had run late to help her grandpa at the old place, and she knew that he loved her, but man she hated to disappoint him when she was late. She also hated to disappoint her mom who had been running low on money lately, and had been working extra hours and picking up other people's stories to get the money from the paper that she needed. It killed Lilly to see her mom have to write about anything Taylor wished, but it payed the bills and kept food on the table. Well, Luke kept food on the table, but that's beside the point.

"I'm so sorry, Grandpa. I had, like, this super crappy assignment, and the teacher assigned the groups. So I was stuck with a bunch of idiot bimbos who didn't know what they were doing. I was so mad cause me and Cat and Mark had this really good idea planned for it and just—" the teenager was cut off by Luke. He placed a to go cup of coffee in her hands, willingly which was unlike him, and the way he was looking at her, it looked like he had something to hide.

"Its fine, Lil. Just get to work before I die of old age." He smirked at her, and she smirked back, but not before glancing at him warily. He never kept things from her. Her grandfather had been one of the few constants in her life, and next to her mom he was her best confidant. And she could tell that he didn't like keeping whatever information he had from her.

Lilly grabbed her apron, and tied it tightly around her waist while turning the radio on. She remembered how much convincing it had taken to get Luke to get one for the diner, but he did and he did it for her. That made the blue eyed girl smile. She knew that the only way for her to keep it on was to play the country music that Luke liked, and she would never tell her music crazy mom and Aunt Lane, but it was starting to grow on her. She shifted from the radio to the empty tables that needed to be cleaned and groaned.

Luke had excused himself to go upstairs, and Lilly promised she would keep an eye on the place. With all the extra shifts she picked up, she felt like half the time she was running the place. She was refilling Kirk's coffee for the fifth time in the past twenty minutes when a new customer had come in. Looking the customer's way, Lilly was puzzled to not recognize this person considering how small Stars Hollow was. She informed the man she would be with him in a minute, and slowly walked back to the cash register while trying to get a good look at the newcomer.

"What can I get you, sir?" Lilly asked while pulling her notepad out and clicking her pen. The man flipped through the menu, but seemed to not really be looking as he kept turning his head to look out the large window. He started his order, but stopped immediately when he got an actual look at Lilly.

"Rory?" He asked incredulously. Lilly shook her head with a look of confusion, so this guy knew her mom? She was ever more confused when the guy looked intently at her. Sure, she did have a striking resemblance, but the 16 year old had never actually been mistaken for her mom.

"N-no. I'm her daughter, Lilly." She said her nose scrunching in confusion. The man stared at her for a moment more before finishing his order, Lilly nodded and walked back to tell Caesar what was needed. The bell rang again, and both she and the stranger looked up quickly. The guy ducked his head behind the menu when Lorelai walked through the door.

"Lilly, my precious granddaughter. You know I love you, but I love my coffee. So gimme, the whole pot will do." The older woman said, making Lilly chuckle. She knew that her grandfather wouldn't approve of the amount of coffee she was about to give her grandmother, but she got the largest coffee mug anyway, and poured half the pot into it. "You're the best, Lil. So where is my coffee hating husband?" She questioned as Luke stepped from behind the curtain leading upstairs.

Lilly was handed the meal that the guy hiding behind the menu ordered, and placed it in front of him before turning back to her grandparents. The way Luke was looking at the guy, the girl knew there something going on. She didn't say anything, and neither did Luke they seemed to have an unspoken agreement. Lorelai was oblivious in her coffee world, but the mystery guy was not. He got up to leave, but was stopped by Luke who had grabbed his jacket to take him up the stairs.

When Lorelai noticed the man Luke had with him, she gasped and looked at Lilly. The 16 year old was distracted, and the older woman lost a bit of her worry when she heard what she had said. "No, Kirk. I'm not joining your cult. Now get out." She reminded Lorelai of Luke when she did that. As Kirk walked out the door, Rory walked in.

"What's this about cults? Don't let Taylor know there's one, he'll send me undercover for the inside scoop." She smiled at her daughter who poured her a cup of coffee. Lilly giggled, and turned to the cash register. Before Lorelai could tell her daughter that they had a surprise guest, Luke came down the stairs and shot his wife a look that meant it was the end of it for the moment. Lilly had been too caught up with work to notice that the mystery guy didn't come back downstairs.

 **XXX**

Jess heard a lot of stuff going on in the diner downstairs, but didn't dare go back down. He knew that Luke would probably take no time to shoot him if he did go down during working hours. He hadn't really heard all that much lately besides Lilly (Rory's daughter?) and some kid named Will, who seemed to be Luke and Lorelai's kid. Luke had left about an hour ago, and instructed Will to help Lilly close up shop.

"Lil, do you want ice cream?" Will asked his niece. It was weird considering Lilly was three years older than him. Jess heard the music switch from some country song to some alternative song and smiled.

"No, we don't have cones! And the first lesson my mom taught me was to never accept ice cream without a cone." She said, and turned the radio down slightly. "Nah, I'll just have coffee and some cake." And then there was some rummaging and then the clanking of cutlery against dishes. What Lilly had said brought Jess back to the night when he crashed Rory's car. He still felt bad about that.

"Alright, Little Man. You can go, I gotta wash these dishes, and I gotta, uh, study." He heard the 16 year old say, and then some harrumphing from Will. A chair scuffled, and the door to the diner opened.

"I'm not so little!" Will said as he walked out, and Lilly chuckled. The music stopped, and the sink started running to wash the dishes. With Will gone, Jess took the opportunity to take a look at the diner, and Rory's daughter. He couldn't see much from behind the curtain, but Lilly stepped out from behind the counter top, and started talking animatedly. Well, singing animatedly.

" _Marius, you're no longer a child. I do not doubt you mean it well_ …" He heard her sing. She giggled a bit when she looked at herself in the reflection of the window, and Jess took this to notice the similarities and differences between the teenager and Rory.

While Rory had pale skin, Lilly's was a bit tanner. Also Lilly's hair was a darker shade with soft curls and thicker than her mothers, but that could easily be attributed to Lorelai. Though despite the _very_ few physical differences, they seemed to be almost the same in looks and personality. Both being witty, and from the sounds of what he had heard earlier that day they both loved books. He listened and watched a bit more, and had to stop his profiling to watch the girl's dramatics.

He had long ago realized that Lilly was singing songs from _Les Miserables_. He had read it years ago, and the names of the characters stuck with him through that whole time. Jess watched intently as he heard her begin to sing "I Dreamed a Dream." Her face screwed up a bit to show pain, and it made him actually think she was in it. Her singing was brought out even more by the emotion she put into the song.

" _I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living_." She sang with tears in her eyes, and the performance that she held really moved him, the supposedly emotionless man. As she finished, he couldn't stand being in the shadows any longer, and stepped from behind the curtain clapping his hands. She jumped and turned to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was here." She said in a small voice, like she had been caught taking the last cookie. Jess waved his hand and sat down on a barstool. She followed, and stood behind the counter. "Is there anything I can get you?" She tried to do her best customer service act. Jess again waved his hand.

"You were good. Have you read the book?" He asked hoping that she had at least read _Les Mis_ before watching the musical or movie. Lilly nodded quickly, and then came around the counter and sat on a bar stool.

"Yeah, it's my favorite. I like how the revolution was portrayed. And the turmoil that they faced. Reminds me that not all people had it good, even when that's what history wants you to believe. Actually, I just really like Victor Hugo." She rambled a bit. Jess nodded. They sat in an awkward silence for a few seconds when Lilly started talking again. "Who are you? And why did my grandpa throw you upstairs?"

Jess looked around the diner, and even though no one was there, he feared that Miss Patty and Babette would have it all over the town the next day. No doubt it already was. "I'm Jess." He stuck his hand out to shake. Lilly smirked, and shook it.

"That's my name." She said with a smile. Jess looked at her funny, and she realized what she said. "Well, I mean it's my middle name. Technically, my name is Lorelai Jessica Gilmore, so I guess kinda not the same thing…" She blabbed again. He nodded knowingly, he had heard the babbles of the previous Lorelais many a time.

"So, you're Lorelai IV?" He chuckled, and Lilly nodded. "And to answer your question, I am Luke's nephew. That's why he threw me upstairs." Lilly smiled, and remembered how when she and Rory had lived in the apartment she was thrown upstairs many times for getting in trouble. "So, you got any other books you like to read?" He questioned, but probably knew the answer since she was Rory's kid.

Lilly nodded, and wracked her brain for her most recent conquer. "Well, I just finished re-reading _Anna Karenina_ , and I really like Austen, and I surprisingly like Dickens. Oh, yeah I love John Steinbeck! We read _Of Mice and Men_ in school, but I had already read it like 20 times." She didn't know why she was telling all of this to some guy who she didn't know, and apparently was a far off relative that she had heard nothing of. Jess smiled, and continued to listen to the ramblings of the 16 year old, and it reminded him of Rory. "But, I really really like _Les Mis_. I keep re-reading it, and I read it when I was 10 so it was difficult the first time, but it keeps getting easier to understand each time I read it." She continued to babble.

The bell rang to the front door, and they both turned to yell at the person that the diner was closed out of habit. Instead, Lilly jumped up and hugged the new inhabitant. It was a girl about Lilly's age, and short and blonde. "Cat, I didn't realize the time." Lilly exclaimed. "And, oh my lord, I have so much to tell you about that stupid English assignment that I got assigned to do with the biggest idiots in the school." The subject had changed, and that was the end of the conversation between Jess and Lilly.

The two teenagers walked out of the diner, and Lilly began locking the door behind her. "Wait! I just wanted to say it was nice to meet you." She told Jess, who smiled.

"Ditto." And then he walked upstairs, and she walked outside to be with her best friend that was not her mom. Cat asked who he was, and Lilly gave the story of the new relative she never knew she had. Then they went to Lilly's house for movie night and a sleepover.

 **XXX**

The next morning, Lilly and Cat walked up to the diner for Lilly's early shift, and were surprised to see a long line coming from the restaurant. Lilly pushed her way to the front to see what all the commotion was, and she busted out laughing when she saw the sight in front of her.

There was the door, unlocked and opened, but it was barricaded with all the tables and chairs from the inside. Luke looked more than pissed, and he noticed Lilly laughing and shot her a glance that shut her up. It took some time, but the barricade was done away with, and there at the bar top sat Jess sipping a cup of coffee. He looked to Lilly and raised his mug.

"To the barricades." He said with a smirk. She held in her laughter as much as possible.

" _Viva la revolution_." She returned, glad to have begun a new inside joke. The two's joke was stopped by the door opening, and a loud gasp ringing through the entire place. Jess sat up a bit straighter with the person entering. Lilly whipped around to see her mother standing in the doorway, not moving.

"Jess?" She questioned. Jess looked down at his coffee, and then back up to the woman standing in front of him.

"Hey."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: SO I am back! Yay, I have really wanted to update this, but I like knew I had to give it time to cool, and I know that I have to have a schedule. But I am back, almost one week later (I was gonna update tomorrow, but I love this story). Ok, I hope you enjoy, and hopefully this one clears up a few things.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _Thirty days and thirty nights  
Been putting up a real good fight  
And there were times I thought you'd win  
It's so easy to forget  
The bitter taste the morning left  
Swore I wouldn't go back there again_

 _-"You and Tequila" Kenny Chesney_

"I get to leave first!" Rory yelled as she bolted from the diner. Jess started after her, and she started running faster. "My town! I leave!" She yelled again as the people of the town watched the strange interaction from the former lovers. Rory completely forgot about her daughter for a few minutes as she ran through the streets, reminding her of the first time Jess had told her he loved her.

"Rory stop! People are staring!" He shouted to her, but she didn't stop running. Good lord, how did she not know he was back in town? Stars Hollow had the best gossip train, and the people would normally rush off to tell her that her former boyfriend was there. And he had met Lilly! She was screwed. So screwed.

Finally, because of her horrible eating and working out patterns, the brunette slowed her pace until she was officially at a stop. Bent over and panting, she tried her best to stay in that position as to not have to confront the man in front of her, and her past demons caused by said man. She looked up and was surprised to see concern written on his face, and worry in his eyes. The eyes that she could get lost in for years…

"Why are you here?" She questioned staring into his brown eyes. He gulped some air like she had done previously (he would never admit that he wasn't in the best shape, but it wasn't a lie) and looked around at the town he had once lived in before turning back to the woman he had once – no, _still_ \- loved.

"Well, we're expanding. Truncheon, expanding to Hartford. I came to see Luke…" He trailed off, and let her think for a moment. He had been so close to saying he was planned to see her too, but didn't. She had a kid for goodness sake's, and no doubt she probably married the blond dick from Yale. He was an idiot for going back. Nothing good ever happened when he went back to Stars Hollow. Why shouldn't it now?

"I can't believe you met my daughter." She exasperated, bringing him from his reverie. He looked towards her, and she turned her head.

"Why? The blond dick gonna be mad that I met his precious little girl?" He asked with scorn in his voice. Rory recoiled appropriately and looked at him again. He looked hurt, and she did too. They were a crappy pair.

"She's not Logan's." The woman whispered. Jess perked up a bit, his next retort locked and loaded.

"Oh, this is rich. I can't believe that you shacked up with bag boy. Wow, you know, that's just rich." He told her, this time with more venom in his voice. He watched as Rory's eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head again this time not able to even put him in his place.

"Oh my gosh. Is, is she…" He trailed, unable to finish the question. She looked up at him, and she so wanted to scream yes. That Lilly was his that they could finally be a family. He was there and it was the perfect opportunity, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. God, she was an idiot.

"No." She let out a shaky breath and let the lies come. "My friend from Yale, Marty. He and I, after Philadelphia. It's complicated." She tried to explain without giving herself away. She didn't know why she did it, but she did and now she was angry at herself, but couldn't go back on the lie. She looked towards Jess's face, and it kind of made her want to hug him and apologize. Good God, she was keeping his daughter from him, and she didn't know why.

"Ok." He said, and turned back towards the diner with Rory trailing behind. She let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't deal with him possibly leaving again, and refused to let Lilly go through that like she had so many times. She heard the giggles coming from her daughter and thought maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought.

"Ok, I'mma do the thing. You ready? Ok." Lilly exclaimed looking at her mom and Cat and Mark. Jess sat back down on the stool he had previously occupied, and tried to act like he was paying a lot of attention to his coffee but was really listen to Lilly babble. She pointed at Mark and started rambling.

"Marky-Mark is Mark Wahlberg. Mark Wahlberg was in _Daddy's Home_. Also starring Will Ferrell. Will Ferrell was in _The Office_ season 8. _The Office_ had Karen. Karen is also Ann Perkins. Ann Perkins was in a relationship with Chris Traeger. Chris Traeger was played by Rob Lowe. Rob Lowe was in the brat pack. The brat pack wasas in a bunch of '80s movies. John Hughes directed a bunch of '80s movies. John Hughes references were made often by Shawn Spencer. Shawn Spencer was the main character in _Psych_. I know you know, we are watching _Psych_ tonight." She finished somehow with all of her breath. Rory clapped, and Cat giggled while nodding her head. Mark plopped down and grumbled.

"I told you never to call me Marky-Mark." Making Lilly laugh loudly, and earn a sweet hug from Cat.

"You're such a dork." Rory told her daughter. Lilly smirked and pulled her mother's coffee cup out of reach, and held the pot above her head. Said mother groaned, and tried to get back the beloved drink of the gods. "But you're my dork, with the coffee that I love!" She struggled out trying to reach across the counter. Lilly passed back her coffee and went back to her work.

Rory sent a look Jess's way, but he looked down to his food as soon as her head turned. He had heard all that Lilly had said, and he knew without a doubt that she was 100% Gilmore girl. Rory stood, and kissed her daughter's forehead as she was headed toward the door.

"Bye, Baby. Love you." And then she was gone, leaving Jess to breathe a bit easier. He wasn't sure but somehow after 20 years she still made his heart beat a little faster and the breath catch in his throat.

 **XXX**

Throughout the week Jess and Lilly seemed to be getting along well. He spent most of his time at the diner where she also spent time since she was working so often. However, Friday rolled around and Lilly was nowhere to be seen, surprising and worrying Jess. He would never admit it, but she had started to grow on him since he had moved back.

He decided not to say anything, knowing it would probably give Luke a reason to tell him to stay away from the Gilmore girls, and he didn't really want to do that. Even though they had had a rocky start, Rory was surprisingly coming around to him again, and they had started to have the barest hint of a friendship. Like the absolute bare minimum, but he would take what he could get.

Though what surprised him the most, was the fact that he didn't see Lilly until 11 o'clock that evening. Jess had been peacefully watching a _Fresh Prince_ rerun and going over some last minute plans for Truncheon II when he heard the bell to the diner ring and the loud chatter of teenagers. He could easily pick out Lilly's loud voice which she had obviously inherited from Lorelai, but he didn't know any of the other kids who had shown up with the 16 year old.

"Marky-Mark!" Lilly called. Now that was one kid that Jess did know, and if Mark was there that meant that Cat wasn't that far behind. But there were still a bunch unknown voices. He didn't really want to go down there and be exposed to the youth of Stars Hollow. He hadn't really like the youth of Stars Hollow when he was one, so why would he like them now?

"Lill, don't ya got that lock picking kit upstairs?" A new voice asked. Jess rolled his eyes, hoping that no one came to disturb him while working. But sadly he heard Lilly's response, and the padding of feet coming upstairs. He braced himself for whoever came up the stairs, whether it be Lilly or one of her friends.

"Hey, Jess." Lilly stated calmly while walking through the apartment. He grunted in response, and continued working, wanting to be involved as little as possible. Jess knew that if Rory caught wind that he had any knowledge, he would be in deeper than he already was. And he really wanted to be on Rory's good side.

Lilly grabbed what she needed, and headed back down the stairs, thankful that Jess didn't question what she was doing. She knew that he and her mom had a history, but the extent of that history she didn't know, so it was no doubt that he would probably tell her mom if she was up to no good. She really didn't want to lose her book privileges again.

"I got it! Let's get some ice cream!" Lilly yelled to her group of friends. Doula raised her arms and hollered, and Steve and Kwan whooped along with the blonde girl. Mark followed behind quietly, these antics that their friends did weren't really his and Cat's thing, but they loved their friends and in all seriousness they did end up enjoying the shenanigans.

"In cones!" Doula shouted after her cousin. Lilly nodded energetically and the six of them headed to the next door soda shoppe. They would obviously get in trouble the next day, but they threw down some of the candy barrels and spilled some milk by the door for good measure hoping to really annoy Taylor.

Since Jess hadn't heard the kids come back, he decided if he was going to be going down to the diner that was the best moment. He would quickly grab a snack and then leave in fear that the teenagers would return shortly. He really didn't like teenagers, except for his sister and Lilly. Unfortunately, he had timed it all wrong because just as he was finishing up his coffee, Lilly marched in with her band of followers.

He noticed Doula trailing in the group, and waited for her to notice him. However, he should have thought that through because knowing his mom, his sister would be a squealer too. "Big Brother!" She screamed and jumped at Jess who was prepared. "I didn't know you were in town!" She yelled again making all the others in the room flinch.

"Doula, I've been here for a week. How did you not know?" He questioned. Doula looked at the ground sheepishly, and looked to her friends who smirked. She couldn't hide much from her big brother.

"Well, Mom and Dad decided I go to one last summer camp before school started, but they got the dates mixed up so I was gone. It was really fun, and don't worry I had Lilly do my homework so I'm not behind." She jovially explained. Jess rolled his eyes. Of course Liz would take Doula out for a random last minute excursion, and of course Doula would get someone else to do her homework. It was a part of the flightiness that came with their family.

"Well, I have to go work." The adult told the kids. They nodded, and Doula hugged him once more before he trudged up the stairs. Finally, he could work knowing all was well. Besides whatever had happened at Taylor's shoppe, but thinking about the next generation keeping up the tradition of annoying Taylor Doose made him smile. Before he turned back to the TV, Jess grabbed his phone and dialed the one number he thought he wouldn't.

"Hello?" The person on the other line picked up. Jess smiled, and was taken back to a time when he wouldn't reply.

"Hey, just thought you should know that Lilly was here. And she and her friends most likely vandalized the Soda Shoppe. Also, did you know she has a lock picking kit?" He asked. Rory huffed on the other line, she most definitely was not expecting a call from Jess at midnight concerning her kid.

"Not surprised. Yeah well, that is their favorite Friday night activity. Thanks for telling me." And then she hung up. Jess sat there a bit stunned for a few minutes. He didn't expect Rory to gladly receive his call, but he had at least hoped that she would be a bit nicer when he showed concern for her daughter. He slumped back into the reclining chair that Luke never got rid of and flipped off the TV. He couldn't focus on even the most mindless of activities. His head was filled with her, and only her.

On the other side of Stars Hollow, Rory placed her phone down on the coffee table and tried to get her article done. She couldn't. She couldn't do anything as long as he was in town, and that wasn't an option. She had a daughter who needed her, a daughter who needed her father…

No, she couldn't afford to think that way. She had already told too many lies to back out now, and most of those lies had been told to said father. Rory dropped the pad of paper back onto the coffee table, knowing full well that she wouldn't get any more work done. Her mind was filled with him, only him.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Alright, this is sadly a short one, but it is jam packed with cute interactions, and maybe a few answers? Well, anyway I've decided to just update every six days since I can't wait the normal seven. I hope you like this chapter, and I would love to hear your feedback on it! Thanks for reading. Don't worry, my next chapter is a longer one.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

As expected, the next morning Taylor had quite the blow up. "Lucas!" He screamed rushing into the diner. Luke and Lilly looked up from where they were discussing the dwindling amount of bacon which Luke thought impossible while Lilly was not surprised. The cardigan wearing man was covered in a white substance that Lilly knew as the milk/ice cream mixture she and her friends had "spilled" the previous night.

While Taylor was in the act of trying not to slip and walk to the counter where grandfather and granddaughter stood, Jess stepped down into the diner still a bit bleary eyed from lack of sleep. "You!" Taylor pointed at Jess, who jumped slightly and looked around confused. "You messed up my store! I knew it! I knew you were trouble 20 years ago, and I know you're trouble now! You did this, I could have died." He rambled. Lilly rolled her eyes.

"One could only hope, Taylor. One could only hope." She told him flatly while pouring some coffee for the random passerby at the counter. The aging man's glare turned from the reformed hoodlum to the current one. In his eyes Lilly Gilmore was not the princess her mother had been, and she did anything she could to make what was left of his life a living hell.

"And you! You, Lilly Gilmore and Jess Mariano destroyed my shoppe! Do you have anything better to do?" He cried. Jess had finally realized what Taylor was bumbling about, and knew he had been right in thinking that Lilly had vandalized the soda shoppe.

"Nah, I had already robbed the bank in Woodbridge, so I thought it would be best to end my night with a snack." Lilly deadpanned. Taylor huffed, and figuring he wasn't getting anywhere with the youngest Gilmore girl, he tried to rush from the diner. However, he failed and ended up slipping from the milk dripping down his slacks. Lilly's smirk changed to a grin as the laughter bubbled out of her, and Taylor shot another glare her way.

Luke ran his hand over his face and looked at his granddaughter. "I can't believe you vandalized the soda shoppe, again." He told her. Lilly only shrugged in reply, and turned to take orders, a large smirk on her lips that took Luke back 20 years. He looked then to Jess who still wasn't fully awake, but was also smirking. He had to do a double take as he took in the _very_ similar smirks that were plastered on both faces.

He blinked a few times and looked at the two again; this time more intently. Luke had always had his suspicions, but Rory had refused to ever confirm his thoughts which should have been confirmation enough. Now his suspicions were resurfacing, and obviously weren't suspicions anymore. It was fact, plain fact that Lilly was Jess's daughter.

He continued to watch the two, both doing different things, but the same at the same time. It confused Luke, who never really did understand his nephew or his granddaughter, but now the pieces were coming into place. He should have known, and Rory should have told them. He knew that he couldn't take any of this to Lorelai, she would have a mini blow up and then drink a bit before actually talking to Rory.

Instead, he thought of the ways that he could bring the topic up to his step-daughter. Ways to explain to her that Jess needed to know about his daughter. That anyone who wasn't blind could tell, but because Rory said it was so they believed her. The town princess and the town hoodlum, mixed into one child would not go well with anyone in Stars Hollow. He understood now why she kept it a secret.

 **XXX**

"One more week!" Lilly exclaimed bounding into the diner, on a crisp, late September morning. The only one around was Luke, and he smiled and returned to his work. Lilly bounced around humming a happy tune because she only had one more week of grounding. The past two weeks had been a living hell, and she was used to the normal three week sentence, but she didn't like it any less. No friends (unless the _happened_ to be in the diner), no TV, no phone, and no books.

"Can you believe it, Grandpa? I don't know why, but this time Mom was really not happy about the Soda Shoppe. She actually took my books away! She literally took the books from my room and hid them! It's been the worst two weeks of my life!" She yelled while pouring herself a cup of coffee. She glanced around the empty diner, knowing it was far too early for any normal person to actually be occupying it. "Just one more week, and I am home free!" She sing-songed. Luke grinned slightly at her before giving her the first thing he needed her to do.

Lilly wiped down tables, humming and dancing in her happy state. She smiled even brighter as she heard Caesar and Luke bickering over that morning's special. Suddenly, the first costumer of the morning rang the bell when walking in, and Lilly sprung into the action of a good little waitress. While taking the order, she was struck with a moment of inspiration and started scribbling on the pad even though there was no more need for it.

She continued this action throughout the morning. When she wasn't taking orders, the notepad was still being scribbled in. It confused some of the people passing through, but brought smiles to the residents of Stars Hollow. The actions didn't go unnoticed by Jess who was sitting at the counter also writing in his own notebook.

The bell rang again, bringing Lilly from her writing induced stupor. "Oh my gosh!" She squealed and ran to hug the new comer. "Lee, I can't believe you're here!" She exclaimed happily. "You said you wouldn't be back for like another month!" She refused to let go or her friend. Next to Cat, Lee was her best friend.

Lee had grown up in Stars Hollow along with the others in Lilly's group, but his parents had divorced halfway through freshman year. His dad had won custody and taken Lee and his brother, Liam, to Boston where he had been finishing high school. He did get to visit over breaks, but it wasn't enough.

"Mom and Dad had another custody battle, I said I wanted to be here. Dad got remarried, its crap there. Mom got me and Liam." He smiled, Lilly grinned up at him repressing another squeal. Before he could say anything else, Lee was ambushed by their other friends. Steve, Kwan, and Mark more than happy to have their old buddy back in town. Throughout their excitement, no one thought to check the time besides Cat.

"Guys, we got school!" She tried to get her quiet voice over the other boisterous ones. Lilly and Doula rolled their eyes simultaneously, and the guys groaned. Lee smirked and did a little pointing thing.

"Suckers!" He laughed in their faces. Lilly swatted at the back of his head, and turned to leave. As they walked through the door, Rory entered and smiled at her daughter. They had missed seeing each other that morning since Lilly got up so ungodly early that every morning, so mother and daughter were sleeping and waking at different times.

"Kiss." Rory said, and kissed her daughter's cheek. Lilly smiled and kissed her mom's cheek too. "Have a good day, Sweets." She said turning into the diner. Without Lilly as a distraction, she actually had to face Jess and be somewhat pleasant. She plopped down onto a chair while ordering a coffee, and trying her best to not gain the attention of the writer sitting next to her.

"Rory?" Jess asked her. She internally groaned and turned to him. She didn't want to talk, least of all to him. But here she was, and it was a conversation that he had started willingly. He, Jess Mariano, had started a conversation. Hell must have been having one big ice storm. Looking at him, he looked a bit flustered which was odd because he was Jess. He didn't get flustered.

Rory nodded her head looking at him telling him to continue. He took a deep breath and looked to the notepad in front of him and then back to her. "I know you're busy, but I thought since you're an editor that you could maybe edit my next book…" He trailed. Rory's eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath of air. Never in a million years did she think that he would ask that of her. Jess had always been so independent; he didn't ask for favors.

"Uh," She stuttered. Jess looked down at the manuscript then back at her. He knew she probably wouldn't want to do it, but he had had to ask. He held up a hand.

"I'll pay you." He blurted. Rory's eyes widened even further putting her blue eyes on display for everyone to see. But especially him, he had missed looking into her eyes. Maybe he should say things spontaneously more often. He hadn't even meant to say that, he had planned on saying how it was fine and he would just do it himself or something like that. But he really wanted to be around her more, and having her edit for him would be the best option.

"Uh, yeah. I'll do it." She said a bit shakily. He looked at her again, a smile tugging lightly at his lips. It was that look that really made her do it. She didn't have the time to edit something else for anybody, but the way he had asked and offered to pay her, she couldn't turn down money. She didn't care how petty that sounded.

He still smiled at her as she started sipping her coffee. She glanced at him, and her lips couldn't help but curve up just a bit. It was like when they had first started dating nearly 20 years ago. "Good." He smirked, and headed upstairs. It surprised Rory, she thought he would give her the manuscript there, but she must have been wrong.

She finished her coffee quickly and slipped out. She didn't know that as she was stepping through the door frame, Jess was walking back down the stairs holding a copy of his manuscript ready to talk. He watched her leave, the ghost of a smile on his lips now simply a ghost and nothing more.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Back again, a day late. Oops. Oh well. Anyway, hope y'all are doing well and excited for this chapter cause I know I am! So yeah, not much to say on the matter, but maybe tell me your thoughts. It always helps me better myself and I also really appreciate knowing that people enjoy my work. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _And though it's clear  
Though it was always clear  
That this was never meant to be  
If you happen to remember  
Stop and think of me  
Think of august when the trees were green  
Don't think about the way things might have been_

 _-"Think of Me" Phantom of the Opera (Christine Daee)_

Lilly walked home with a little bit more spring in her step than usual. Of course, she always had an unusual amount of bouncy step considering she was Lorelai Gilmore-Dane's granddaughter. However, today she had even more. She was officially free of grounding. The three weeks actually hadn't been as bad as normal, and she did get the added bonus of having Lee around the diner along with her other friends.

The brunette hummed to herself as she placed her key into the lock of the front door. She and Rory were finally having some much needed mother daughter time, and now that she was no longer grounded from TV they could do something fun. She was a bit surprised when she opened the door to hear her mom and someone having a playful fight that ended with someone being thwacked with most likely a book.

"Mam." Lilly called into the kitchen where the noise was coming from. She heard the audible intake of breath from her mother and the mystery guest and stepped further into the house. Lilly did a double take when she finally reached the kitchen where her mom was sitting there with Jess. And they were getting along. "Whaa…?" She questioned. The two adults' demeanor changed quickly with the presence of the teenager.

"Hiya, Sweets." Rory said, placing the now printed manuscript on the table. She reached for the fridge and pulled out the juice. "Want some?" She asked trying to change the subject of the forth coming conversation. Lilly shook her head and walked over to the pantry.

"Sorry, Lil. I had to borrow your mom. She's editing my book." Jess tried to explain. Lilly nodded, and turned back to the pantry. She didn't know what she was looking for, but the sight of her mother getting along with Jess confused her, since the entire time he had been in town she had given him nothing but the cold shoulder. Also, she didn't know that he was a writer; it suited him she decided.

"Yeah, well I got to go clean my bookshelves. I'll leave you to editing." She said a bit strangely, still eyeing the two Lilly head up to her room. Before she reached the stairs, she turned around remembering something. "Mom! We don't have any _Downton_ Popcorn!" Rory's mouth dropped to the floor as she lunged at the pantry. Lilly came back in with a frown on her face.

"I thought we had some this morning!" Rory exclaimed. She was still looting through all the boxes of various junk foods. "We can't finish watching _Downton_ without _Downton_ Popcorn!" Lilly's head bobbed in agreement. "Ugh, and the car's out of gas!" The mother once again yelled. The blue eyed teenager stared at her mother with fear in her eyes. In their worry for their popcorn, the two Gilmore girls completely forgot about the writer in their kitchen.

"What's the big deal?" Said writer interrupted their thoughts. Both sets of blue eyes widened and they looked at him in disbelief. Lilly looked at her mom and then back at Jess.

"Did he say what I think he said?" Lilly questioned, holding up a finger to point at the man in their house. Rory nodded absentmindedly. "What's the big deal? The big deal is that we have watched every single episode of _Downton Abbey_ with this specific, delectable, amazing, white cheddar popcorn. And tonight we are watching the _series finale_ , and we can't watch it without this popcorn!" She practically screamed. "And they don't sell it at Doose's. We actually have to drive to Walmart to get it." Lilly ran a hand through her hair further explaining the situation.

Jess looked between the two crazy people and smirked. Of course, they would have a specific junk food they needed for a specific show. It was the Gilmore way. "I'll get it for you." He told them. Rory and Lilly stopped their panicking and looked at him confusedly. "I'll get it. Jeez, do you not understand English?" They both shook their heads in a mocking way. "Write it down, I'll drive to Walmart and get it for you." He reiterated for the last time.

Lilly excitedly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. She knew that there were many different types of white cheddar popcorn, and theirs needed to be especially specified. She handed him the slip of paper, and he headed out the door.

"Thanks!" Rory surprisingly shouted after him. He raised a hand in a 'it's no big deal' sort of way. When he was officially gone, Rory looked to her daughter. "Get changed, we have a show to finish." She shoved the 16-year-old up the stairs. Lilly jokingly resisted, but gladly headed to get changed.

She walked into Rory's room wearing her home made cat pajama shorts, a lobster crop top, her hair up in a messy bun, and her glasses falling down her nose. Rory stepped back into the room from the bathroom, and sat down next to her daughter. "So, what's it between you two?" Lilly questioned her mother who was taken completely by surprise.

"Nothing. We were friends in high school, and now I'm editing his book." She tried to be convincing. Though she wasn't doing too well at it, and a pair of blue eyes were seen rolling rather animatedly. Rory pushed her own glasses up the bridge of her nose and sighed. No information was getting out of her this evening.

"An unspoken attraction?" Lilly mocked in her best impression of Kelsey Grammar as Vlad in _Anastasia_. Rory rolled her eyes at the extremely outdated reference. Lilly was most definitely her daughter at least that was one truth. She shook her head, grabbed Lilly's blanket and headed downstairs. The teenager followed her mom who wouldn't let go of the sloppily sewn blanket that had been the girl's first project.

"Mommy!" She whined rushing down the stairs. Rory turned her head and smirked at her daughter.

"Lilly!" She whined in the same voice. Lilly rolled her eyes, and plopped on the couch dragging the part of the blanket she had in her clutches down. Obviously, it caused Rory to fall onto her butt, and the two laughed heartily. As Lilly pulled the rest of the blanket out from beneath her mother, Jess walked back into the living room holding a Walmart bag.

"Did you run into any of your old friends?" Rory giggled. Jess groaned and placed the bag on the coffee table. Lilly looked between the two quizzically. "Jess used to work at Walmart when we were in high school." She explained. The girl's confused look quickly changed to an amused one, but was met by Jess's not so happy scowl.

He turned back to the kitchen picking up the popcorn to make it. He wondered why Rory had only said, "in high school" when he did most of his working there when they had dated. He placed the popcorn in the microwave and pressed the button. He walked back into the living room and sat on the chair adjacent the couch.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked him. Jess gestured to the chair he sat in with a look that said 'I'm sitting duh.' Lilly watched the two interact, and tried to keep from giggling. She could tell that from the chemistry between them now that they had obviously been something more than friends in high school.

"I thought that since I bought the popcorn that I was automatically invited." The brown eyed man told his old flame. Rory rolled her eyes and shook her head. Immediately after those actions, the popcorn dinged and Jess jumped up to get it hoping to better his chances of being with the next generation of Gilmore girls. The elder of the two girls sighed and threw her hand over her head.

"Mom, don't be this crevice in my arm," Lilly jokingly quoted _Psych_ while pointing to the area in her arm that bended below her elbow. Rory smiled, making her daughter giggle. "It's not the end of the world. Like Michel will probably call in the middle sobbing 'cause it's over and we didn't let him come over to watch the finale. What's the big deal of adding one more to the crazy evening?" She tried to justify Jess being there.

After Lilly had finished talking, Jess stalked back into the living room holding a large bowl of popcorn. He placed it in front of the two women and turned back to the chair he had been sitting in earlier. Rory silently accepted that he was staying for the show as he plopped down into said chair. It was going to be a long night.

 **XXX**

Lilly looked over to see her mother crying not even half way through the episode. She felt tears stinging her own eyes, but had refused to let them fall yet. She still had at least an hour left before the water works were allowed to begin. "Aw, Mommy." She said while cuddling a bit closer to Rory. The popcorn bowl had been discarded within 10 minutes, and was stealthily placed on an already sky high stack of books.

"They're just so happy. They deserve to be happy, and now I'm happy that they're finally happy. Edith especially, she had so much bad things happen and now she's finally getting a happy ending. And Bates and Anna are having a baby, and th-they just deserved so much." Rory sobbed into the pillow. Lilly nodded in agreement and let a few tears finally slip. They had gotten so emotionally involved in the show that it made perfect sense to be crying for them.

Jess looked between the two and the TV. It threw him for a loop. He didn't think of Rory as the type to cry during TV shows. Sad movies, yeah he could see. But happy TV shows? Nope. He noticed that Lilly didn't have a chance of keeping it together either, and sighed. He was seeing a whole new side to the girls' relationship. He had really only seen them say hello and goodbye in passing for work and school. He kind of liked seeing them have the good relationship Jess always knew that Rory would have with her daughter.

By the end of the episode, two whole boxes of Kleenex had been used. The two blue eyed girls were reduced to blubbering messes when they watched the final scene when all the characters said "Happy New Year" all happily. It was moving, and Jess wouldn't deny that he had felt something. It was most likely feelings for seeing Rory cry, but no one had to know that.

"Oh my gosh! Thomas j-just, he was l-loved. He had f-friends! He wa-wasn't alone." Rory sobbed. Lilly nodded, unable to form any words in her current state of sadness. The girl cuddled up a bit more to her mother, and both sat for a few minutes crying while Jess waited for them to finish their sob fest. It took forever, but he was finally able to get a few words in.

"I'm leaving. I'll see you in the morning?" He said, fully knowing the answer. They were Gilmores after all, and that went hand in hand with Luke's coffee. Both nodded, and Jess noticed that Rory didn't even protest to seeing him the next morning. He headed towards the door to leave when Rory's voice stopped him.

"Th-thanks. For getting the popcorn for us. And I did have a good time tonight, it's been forever since we've hung out. Like actually hung out, and it was nice. It reminded me of old times." She admitted in the entry way. Jess nodded, knowing completely well what she meant, but hoping that it could be like old times when they had dated along with the hanging out.

"Goodnight, Rory." He told her. He was surprised when she swiftly drew him in for a short hug. She pulled back and looked at him a bit nervously before checking over her shoulder that Lilly hadn't seen. He looked at her strangely, and she blushed under his gaze. He grabbed the door, and was once again stopped by her angelic voice.

"Goodnight, Dodger." He knew like he did when he first came to Stars Hollow, that those words would forever be the death of him. Especially now.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Ok, two days late sorry… But these are prewritten so I just slap it onto the website and its yours! Well anyway, I am absolutely dead from needing more Literati! I can't wait for the revival I'm counting down the days. So yeah, here is the next chapter! And send me your feedback, I love to hear what y'all think, it really helps me improve my work.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _But don't think I don't think about it  
Don't think I don't have regrets  
Don't think it don't get to me  
Between the work and the hurt and the whiskey  
Don't think I don't wonder 'bout  
Could've been, should've been all worked out  
I know what I felt, and I know what I said  
But don't think I don't think about it_

 _-"Don't Think I Don't Think About It" Darius Rucker_

"No, Grandpa. You know that me and Mom need the money. I can't take the day off. She needs me." Lilly gestured around the diner. Luke rolled his eyes and huffed, his granddaughter sure was a stubborn one. He ran his hand down his face before looking at the 16 almost 17-year-old.

"Lilly, you are going to work yourself to death. And I know you mean well. It's for your mom, but you both need your rest. You have worked every day here since you could write, don't you think that maybe you could take the day off?" Luke tried to bargain with her. Lilly shook her head in a defiant way that could only be Gilmore stubborn. "Please, just do something for yourself for once. You deserve it." He pushed. Lilly shook her head again, and turned towards the curtain leading to the apartment.

"No, I gotta get payed today." She crossed her arms over her chest, firmly holding her ground.

"I'll send the money to your house. You'll get payed, and you won't have to work. Take the day off." Luke stressed. Lilly shook her head, tears starting to blur her vision slightly. She wasn't backing down, no matter how much she loved her grandfather and knew that he meant well.

"Grandpa, you know I don't take handouts. Mom's too nice to say no, but I gotta work for what I need. I'm working for me and mom. She deserves a break, not me. It's my fault we got into this mess anyway. I'll work until it's payed off." And then Lilly shook her head again, wiped at her eyes, and turned towards the curtain leading to the apartment.

She didn't care, or remember, that Jess was currently living there, and did what she usually did when she and anyone had a small fight. She stepped toward the desk in her old room and pulled out an old manuscript she had completely forgotten about. There were so many of those in the apartment that she had lost in the move, or had disregarded and forgotten about years ago. Her pen scribbled down new lines for her characters, and she got completely lost to the surrounding world.

It felt like it did when she and her mom still lived in the apartment above the diner, and she completely forgot about her random relative. She played "Bathroom Sink" to try and remember that life wasn't always about her and Rory's financial problems. "I'm looking forward to the girl I wanna be, but regret has got a way of staring me right in the face." She sang softly still writing furiously. She was so lost in her writing and music that she didn't hear Jess come in.

"Hello?" He questioned into what had once been his room, and apparently Lilly's too. The blue eyed girl jumped ten feet in surprise. She had no idea that she had any company, and was so used to the routine of trying to get lost in writing that she didn't expect anyone to interrupt her for at least another hour. Jess sat on the bed adjacent to the desk, and looked around the room nostalgically.

"What're you writing?" He asked with sincerity. Lilly was a bit surprised. No one had ever had to ask what she was writing. From the mere age of five she had always been a play write, and everyone knew it. She had been used to being left alone to write the dialogue of her made up characters, and never have anyone question it.

"Uh, a play. I write plays." She said, placing her favorite pen down. She had thought she lost it in the move, but thankfully was just sitting next to her year-old manuscript. Also next to it was a dusty copy of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. Lilly picked up her beloved copy, and held it up to her face to keep her embarrassment from showing.

"I knew that wasn't mine." Jess said referencing the Shakespearean work of literature in her hand. Lilly shot him a quizzical look, and he chuckled. "I used to live here, with Luke. Way before you were born, but that's beside the point. I was confused why you ran upstairs. And why I see you furiously writing at my old desk with my favorite pen." He teased. Lilly looked horrified, this was her favorite pen. It couldn't belong to anyone else.

"No, this is my favorite pen. I've been writing with it for 10 years." She said matter-o-factly. "And this is my desk. Has been since forever. At least until last year, when me and mom moved into the new place." She continued. The Shakespeare play now discarded next to her own piece of work. Jess chuckled, but stopped short. They had just moved out of that tiny apartment within the past year?

"You lived here for 15 years?" He asked with worry in his voice. Rory was the smartest, hard working person he ever knew. Why had it taken them so long to move from the apartment that Luke no doubt let them live in for free?

"Yeah." Lilly nodded a bit more solemn now. "Mom didn't get paid too well starting off with journalism. Then I had some medical issues so when she did have money they all went to the medical bills. That's why I'm so bent on working. My mom needs me, and I feel guilty for setting back a lot of her plans." She looked down at her palms. Jess was curious to why Lilly would have had to have been in the hospital often considering the fact that besides the crazy amount of junk food, the Gilmore girls were the picture of health.

"What happened?" He asked tentatively. Lilly looked at him, and seemed to mull over in her mind whether she should go through the long list of surgeries and issues. She held her book a bit tighter as she starting telling her tale.

"Well, there's a lot. First, when I was born I was a few weeks premature and had some respiratory problems. At nine months, some idiot doctor diagnosed me wrong and told Mom I had a rapidly growing brain tumor." At that point she paused for dramatic effect, also to see the look of pure horror on Jess's face about the tumor thing. She wasn't disappointed with his facial expressions. "And then when I was a baby I had a hemangioma. Instead of shrinking it grew, and I had to have laser surgery multiple times. Still need one more, but we never got around to that. That's why my lip is white here." She pointed to the left side of her bottom lip.

"Then when I was three, I had to have recto prolapse surgery, and I hope you know what that is 'cause I ain't explaining it. Then they thought I had Cystic Fibrosis. Because recto prolapse is a major symptom for cystic fibrosis, and my test results came back saying I did have it. But then they redid the test, and it came back negative. Oh yeah, and that same year I had to have my tonsils and adenoids taken out 'cause I had sleep apnea. Breathing's totally not important.

"I was fine for a while, but then I just got stupid and clumsy. When I was seven, I don't even know what I did I just did something really stupid, and I tore my rotator cuff. Had to have surgery on that. When I was nine I literally shattered my arm, had to have surgery on that. Three years ago I had to my legs rotated because apparently they were bowed. They had to cut my femur in half and then twist it. They did that to both legs.

"And last year I had to have a rod stuck in my back 'cause I had really really bad scoliosis. I was in the hospital for like two weeks for that one. I sit a bit straighter now, and I can't really bend my back like normal. So yeah. Lots of hospital visits. And then physical therapy for my hospital visits. But I got some pretty cool scars out of them."

Jess was taken aback. The poor kid had been dealt a bad hand, and now she and her mother were suffering from it. It was kind of ironic to him that a Gilmore would end up having medical issues. The only time he had ever heard of either Lorelai or Rory being in the hospital was when he had fractured Rory's wrist. "That sucks." He told Lilly. She nodded, and he could tell why she had been working so hard.

A lull had fallen over the conversation, and Jess looked at the desk covered in different plays. He snagged one hanging off the edge, and read through it laughing softly. Lilly looked at the script in his hands, and once again held _A Midsummers Night's Dream_ over her red face. "I wrote that when I was seven. I had just gotten attacked by a swan." She sheepishly explained. Jess let a genuine laugh leave his lips when he comprehended what she said.

"No way. That swan is still alive?" He questioned the teenager, who looked at him confusedly. "I was attacked by a swan when I was 18." He reminisced. Lilly's eyes widened as her mouth upturned into a smile. She let a giggle fly loose before finally losing it. Jess started laughing too, and they couldn't stop.

"I highly doubt it's the same swan, but it's probably like a _Jaws 2_ thing where like the baby is getting revenge for its mom." Lilly joked, making herself giggle harder. Jess nodded a smile still plastered to his face. They were really enjoying this moment. "But yeah, I was hanging out by the bridge and then like this swan like freaking came after me. It literally _chased_ me through town!" Lilly kept laughing at her childhood anecdote. Jess chuckled, and began retelling his story.

"I was walking around the docks, and I got beaked." He told the teenager. Lilly giggled, she had never heard beak used as a verb. "Then I went to go attack it with a ladle." He continued making the girl laugh even harder. "I was so embarrassed, I told your mom that I got hit while playing football."

Lilly was taken aback by the comment about her mom, neither adult really talked about their supposed "friendship" just a few acknowledgements of the other living in town when they were young. She quickly regained her composure. "Blackmail. I have blackmail on you!" She pointed. Jess rolled his eyes, of course she would think of that first. "Oh the sweet, sweet power!" Lilly cackled animatedly. She felt like a cartoon villain.

"Yeah, yeah. How about I buy you ice cream and we call it even?" The man asked while standing to grab his signature leather jacket. Lilly sat at the desk mock thinking, a finger placed on her chin and her elbows on her knees. "I'll throw in a book too." He furthered reasoned. Hearing the word book, Lilly jumped up excitedly and followed Jess down the stairs.

They were walking back to the diner, Lilly holding a bag with a book and ice cream when she turned to Jess. "I have blackmail on you!" She exclaimed running into the diner. He stood there with a smirk on his face, she may be 16 but she was really six.

 **XXX**

Lilly flew up the stairs to her bedroom. She had blown right past Rory and Jess who had taken to editing his book in the kitchen which was directly by the stairs. Rory went back to editing not even batting an eye at her daughter while Jess stopped and starred since he had never once in his life seen a Gilmore run. Not including the time that Rory ran from him in the town square. Rory snapped her fingers in front of his dazed brown eyes and continued talking about the manuscript in front of them.

"Bye, Mom!" Lilly raced back down the stairs and threw her stuff out the door. Jess was still confused, but didn't tear his eyes away from the book in front of him and Rory. He didn't really want her getting more annoyed with him.

Suddenly, Lilly once again came bounding through the door. "Forgot my guitar." She yelled as she raced up the stairs. Jess was yet again puzzled. Lilly didn't seem like the kind to play guitar. Rory nodded to no one, still lost in thought over what to do about Jess's book. For the final time, Lilly ran down a guitar case in her arms and once again yelled goodbye to her mother.

"Please tell me all the grammar mistakes were intentional like in _The Road_." She looked between him and her coffee. Jess nodded. Rory let out a sigh of relief. "Well, then it's really good. I actually have no words. It's amazing like all your writing is." She complimented.

Jess smiled. Rory was the one of the few people he actually liked to hear praise from. "Thanks." He turned all monosyllabic. The woman staring at the book rolled her eyes, and blew a hair from her face. She turned to her freezer, and came back holding a carton of ice cream.

"Don't worry I have cones. This is to your new book. And now you don't have to pay me since I did absolutely nothing." She said while scooping the ice cream into a sugar cone. Jess huffed, he really wanted to help her out after talking to Lilly earlier that week.

"I have to pay you. You've done so much." He told her as she handed him his ice cream. Rory mumbled into her ice cream. Something that Jess didn't catch, but had a good feeling as to what she said. "I'm serious I have to do something. You inspired me to write my first book." He tried again. Rory shook her head.

"No, I-I don't deserve anything." She tried again. Lilly was usually the one to say no to getting help, but Jess didn't owe her anything. _She_ owed _him_ , 16 years of Lilly's life. He had given her the best thing to ever happen to her, he owed her nothing. After all these years, how come she was finally starting to lose her resolve. She wished she had lost it the day she found out, the day Lilly was born. Not 16 years later.

"Please, let me do something." He pleaded so genuinely Rory almost said yes. Before she could respond, the phone started ringing, and she took that as her out. She held up a hand to tell him to wait, and she picked up the phone. Before she could even answer, the brunette heard screaming from the other end.

"Rory?" Lee asked on the other end. Rory yelped in surprise, and Lee continued. "It's Lilly. She's got a migraine. I-I've never seen one this bad." The blond teenager on the other end sounded incredibly distressed.

"I'm coming to take her to the hospital. Dammit, she hasn't had one in years." Rory spoke a bit harshly into the phone. At the word hospital, Jess looked at his old flame carefully. She hung up the phone, and turned to Jess. "I have to take Lilly to the hospital. She's got a migraine, and she needs the morphine cocktail." She tried to explain, grabbing her keys. Jess followed her out to her car.

The old Prius had been starting to wear down in its years, but it had always been trusty. That's why Rory screamed in frustration when it wouldn't start. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" She yelled while smacking the steering wheel. Jess threw the door open, and grabbed Rory's arm pulling her to his car.

"What's the fastest way to Lee's house?" He asked, Rory pointed it out, and Jess started his car. He knew he broke every law that Stars Hollow had for speeding, but he didn't care. Rory's daughter was in pain, and he needed to help them in some way. They pulled up to see Lee holding back Lilly's hair as she wretched into a plastic bag.

Jess jumped from the car, picking up the teenager and carrying her to his back seat. Rory moved back to sit with her daughter while she got sick. She screamed in pain, and that only made Jess drive towards the hospital quicker. He hadn't been this worried about someone ever, he didn't know what to do in this situation. But Rory did. He looked behind him every few seconds to see her cradling Lilly, holding back her hair when she puked, and whispering little things in her ear.

Finally, the car stopped in front of the ER. Jess helped the girls out and carried Lilly while Rory walked to the desk. He placed the sick 16-year-old on a chair, and propped her up against him. Rory filled out paper work as quickly as she could trying to keep her vision from travelling to looking at Jess comfort her daughter. "Ma'am, we'll need your husband's information too." A nurse informed her.

Rory blinked, completely caught off guard. She never had to do that before, write down Lilly's dad's information, and here he was. She didn't know what to do, keep up with the charade or get the medical history she needed. She chose the easy way. "Uh, he's not my husband. I don't know the information on my daughter's father." Rory explained. God, she was so selfish.

The nurse gave her a pointed look like she could see right through the lies she had been telling for 16 years. She finally harrumphed and turned around as Rory turned back to Jess and Lilly. This was going to be another long night.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey hey! I'm back! Ok so I hope y'all like this one. Btw super cute Jess and Lilly hang out! And obviously a good healthy dose of literati because without them this story wouldn't exist! And also the migraine cocktail is a legitimate thing. My sister gets really bad migraines and she has to go to the ER to get them to go away if she doesn't have her medicine or takes it too late. Oh! And I got a question about Rory and Lilly's place, and it is not Lorelai's house. They saved up enough to get their own place, but they refer to it as Crap Shack 2.0. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _I am just too selfish I guess  
I know you're tired and restless  
It's no surprise we've come undone  
But I can't unlove you just because  
You say it's better in the long run_

 _-"Better In the Long Run" Miranda Lambert_

"Hey, Baby." Rory cooed at her loopy daughter. They had injected the cocktail into Lilly's system and she would be very loopy for the next few days. Lilly hummed in response, and Rory smiled. She couldn't see it, but Jess was smiling too. He was glad that Lilly was fine and that the projectile vomiting had stopped. It was like watching _The Exorcist_ in 3D.

"Mommy come here," Lilly whispered to Rory who leaned in. "Jess got beaked when you were 18." She tried to whisper but failed. Jess huffed as he looked at Lilly's sleepy smirk.

"I told you not to tell anyone." He pointed at her jokingly. Lilly let out a giggle and allowed her droopy eyelids to finally fall. She was still hooked up to a few machines and in an uncomfortable hospital bed, but after being in so much pain she needed a nap.

When Rory was 100% positive that her daughter was asleep, she whipped around to look at Jess with a giant grin on her face. "That was how you got the black eye wasn't it?" She poked at his ribs. He jumped back a mock filled scowl on his face. "Oh my gosh, I knew you didn't have enough buddies to play football with." She went on earning a playful thwap from the book that was in his hands from the bookstore.

"Whatever." He emotionlessly said. Rory giggled, and snatched the book from his hands. He pretended to grab at it, but failed on purpose for the sake of their game. Suddenly, they were interrupted by the nurse that Rory had talked to earlier. She looked between them and shook her head, muttering to herself while she checked on Lilly.

They heard her grumble as she left, "Not married my ass." Making Rory look at Jess embarrassedly. He smirked at her, pulling the copy of _Gone with the Wind_ from her warm hands. She took that as the time to look back at her daughter, make sure everything was fine before going to sign for her release.

"Married, huh?" Jess looked at her. "Never saw myself as the marrying type, but you know when I don't know I'm married I can't really make myself the type." He joked with her. Rory's face blushed a deep crimson.

"Shut up, Pony Boy. I'm not the one who bought _Gone with the Wind_ from the gift shop." She tried to throw a pop culture reference at him to change the subject. "And I told her we weren't; you were the one who made it look like we are." She tried to change the blame from her to him. He scoffed at her in a playful way before reading.

They fell into a peaceful silence; the only thing making sound was the beeping of the monitor connected to Lilly and Jess flipping the pages of his book. "I've missed you." Rory whispered in his direction. The slow yet sure flipping of pages stopped as Jess took in what she said.

"I've missed you too." He replied voice barely above a whisper. The look he was greeted with when he looked up at her sent a tingling feeling through him. Her smile so bright it could light up any room even without electricity she was just that beautiful.

 **XXX**

It was close to one that morning when Lilly was discharged. She had slept through the majority of the evening at the hospital, and she would likely sleep throughout the next day. As Jess's car reached the Gilmore house, Rory – who had been sleeping in the passenger seat – stirred and blinked her eyes rapidly trying to gain reorientation. She looked at Jess while he pulled into the drive way, careful to not jostle Lilly.

She was a bit stunned when he walked around to the side of the car that Lilly was in, and picked her up with ease to carry the teenager into the house. He nodded for her to follow, as she had the key, and smiled as Rory looked around confusedly at her front porch. She finally did realize what was going on when the key was slid into the lock and they entered the still lit living room.

In her rushing, Rory had left the lights on and the house in even more disarray than normal. Jess grunted as he tried to get Lilly through the door without accidentally hitting her head on the doorframe. Rory wordlessly led him up the stairs to where her daughter's room was. She huffed in exhaustion while she trudged up the staircase. She flipped on a switch in a blue room, and walked in.

Jess followed slowly, taking in the bright room. He noticed the built in bookshelves obviously done by Luke. The shelves were set up in a decorative yet organized way. He could tell Lilly had a system for her books, and she didn't like it any other way. He also noticed a window seat with a pillow that looked incredibly well-worn from the past year's use.

Rory drew his attention away from the bookcase, and to Lilly's unmade, twin size bed. He placed the girl on the mattress, and watched with a slight smile on his face as Rory assessed to her daughter even in sleep. She placed the comforter up near her chest, and set a full water bottle on the floor next to the bed. The woman turned around; her blue eyes watching for his next move.

He nodded toward the bookshelves, and he looked back to see the ghost of a smile on her lips. He turned back skimming over the titles. He stopped short as he looked at the top shelf where a stack of books sat in an orderly pile. He reached up to grab the book on the top, and let out a soft, "Huh." At the sound, Rory's head whipped around to see what he was so entranced with.

She looked at the book in Jess's hand and held back a gasp. She didn't know that Lilly had found that book. She noticed how worn it had become in the years, and she realized how many times her daughter must have read that book. The man's gaze fell back on her as he held it up, notes in the margins that were obviously not hers.

Rory waved her hand to indicate she wanted Jess to follow her. He conceded and stepped out and back down the stairs. They reached the couch when she finally knew it was safe to use their voices. "I didn't know she had that." She told him her voice soft. "I-I…" She couldn't think of anything to say. He nodded, not in understanding, but hoping to quiet her irrational fears.

"I didn't think you still kept it." He replied to her. Rory ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She stretched, and he did his best to keep his eyes from looking at where her shirt rode up slightly. They each took shaky breathes, and shyly gazed into the other's eyes.

"I could never get rid of it." She confessed. He chuckled slightly, gaining an odd look from her. "I'm serious, it's amazing." Rory continued. Jess's chuckling grew into quiet laughs. The blue eyed woman adjacent to him watched him with uncertainty worried that he had finally cracked.

"It's horrible." He laughed. Rory moved back slightly in a surprised and joking manner. She absolutely hated when he threw himself and his work under the bus, but it made her laugh that 17 nearly 18 years after their last encounter he still thought it needed to be scrapped. Rory pushed his arm, and he grinned at her.

"I love that book." She smiled brightly. Jess shook his head in defiance, and he flipped through it a few more times.

"Seems Lilly does too, 'cause I know for a fact that you do not write in your books." He picked a random page and smirked widely. Rory glanced at him curiously, and Jess held the book higher prepared to read what Lilly wrote. "'Good God, you idiot. I don't even know what to say. Why do I keep reading this?'" He barely finished reading the sentence when both he and the woman next to him busted into laughter.

"That is high praise from Lilly. That's the stuff she says over and over again when she really likes something." She giggled, her blue eyes shining with something indescribable. It makes him feel something, something he hasn't felt in a long time. "So it's not the intellectual stuff you put in the margins, but she at least speaks her mind… Oh you should see her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_. Five pages full of yelling at Lizzy to get with Darcy. Good stuff there."

They fell into an awkward silence as Rory pulled her legs up to her chest, and Jess placed the book on the coffee table. He stood to leave, but was stopped by her soft hand reaching out to him. He stared at her, questioning in his deep brown eyes. "I-I… Can you stop by tomorrow? I just, I have to work, and I don't want Lilly to be alone all day tomorrow, and…" The brunette trailed. Jess smiled at her softly and nodded.

"I'll be here at eight." And she gained a hopeful look in her eyes. He turned from her, and she couldn't help but think about all they could have been. And maybe, just maybe, this time they can make it work. So for the first time since Lilly was born, Rory thinks she might just be able to tell the truth.

 **XXX**

Jess showed up at the Gilmore residence at eight sharp. He was prepared to knock when he noticed a note taped to the wall. 'Jess, went to work. Don't knock, key's under Tom. Thanks, Rory.' The note pointed down to a small figurine of Tom Sawyer. He smirked at the idea of such a Gilmore quirk. He let himself in quietly, knowing full well that Lilly would probably be out for the morning and possibly some of the afternoon.

He took out his computer and began working. He finished some extra things on the building of Truncheon II, and stopped abruptly when he felt the soft buzz of his phone. He read the text from Rory, and couldn't help but role his eyes at her worry. She had texted with a thousand questions on Lilly's health, and then some about him doing random things around her house. If he wasn't such a sucker he wouldn't have done them.

So that's how Jess found himself doing house chores while waiting for his ex-girlfriend's daughter to wake up from her drug induced sleep. He did all the things he could that weren't noisy and then some that he thought that Rory was in need of, but would never have the time. He eventually ended up in the kitchen, reading a recipe for banana bread in Lilly's sloppy yet neat script.

He found the ripe bananas in a draw in the fridge, completely surprised that a Gilmore had food in the fridge and knew how to cook. When the beater started, Jess cringed at the sound, hoping he didn't wake up the sleeping teenager. It was only ten, and after the pain of the day before, she didn't need to lose anymore sleep. Finally, the banana bread was in the oven, and he could finally get back to work. Even though technically he could have worked before making the banana bread, but as most writers do best he procrastinated instead.

He had finally sat down to watch an episode or two of TV when he heard a knock come from the door. He listened carefully for any sign of Lilly waking up, thankful when he heard nothing, and walked to the door. He opened it to find Lee standing on the front porch, Lilly's guitar in one hand and a bundle of sheet music in the other.

"Jess, right?" The blond kid asked confusedly. Even though he had been back in town for about 3 weeks, Lee knew next to nothing about Jess. He had asked rather carefully too in case it was not Jess, and the guy at the Gilmore house would end up getting angry. The adult in question nodded, and Lee handed the items to him. "Tell Lilly I hope she feels better soon. She hasn't gotten a migraine where she actually had to go to the hospital in years." He said before dashing down the steps.

Jess turned inside hoping to actually get some work done. He luckily succeeded until noon rolled around, and Lilly finally made her appearance. She trudged down the stairs, her hands covering her face from the sun, grumbling about her head and how tired she was. It confused Jess that if she was tired, why didn't she go back to sleep?

"Good morning, Sleepy." He said in a mocking tone. His eyes widened in shock when he noticed Lilly holding up her middle finger in his direction while she walked to the kitchen. He didn't think Rory's daughter would have it in her to flip someone off. She came back into the room holding a piece of warm banana bread, and her homemade blanket wrapped tightly around her small frame.

"Why are you here?" She asked finally registering that Jess was sitting on her couch while her mother was at work. She took another bight of the bread as she turned on the TV not even waiting for his reply. She didn't even seem to care that he had already been sitting on the couch as Lilly lifted her feet and curled up on the edge of the couch, one leg stretched out as another was tucked closely to her chin.

"Your mom, she asked me to come over." He said simply, but was completely taken aback by the look Lilly threw his way. He realized now the thoughts that would be running through the teenager's head, and Jess also made a face while slapping her foot playfully. "No, no. Stop," He shook his head quickly trying to throw the thoughts and memories from his mind. "It wasn't like that, she wanted me to come over _in the morning_ to stay here with you when you got up. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Lilly shook her head, a knowing look gracing her features, and flipped through the different shows on Netflix. She set the volume very low before deciding on _The Dick Van Dyke Show,_ and snuggled back down into her blanket sending a warm smile Jess's way. Lilly really did appreciate him being there to stay with her during the day, and she enjoyed the way that he and her mom got along.

Jess lightly tapped her foot as she dozed off, and Lilly thought maybe this was what it was like to have a dad. Someone who was around to help when you're sick, someone who makes banana bread while you sleep, someone who enjoys spending time with you even though you're annoying. Moments like these were never really fulfilled by just having a grandfather in Luke.

Lilly knew she needed a father. Now she had the right idea to get one.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Ok, angst-y one. But I loved writing this. And I hope you enjoy reading it. It felt kind of short to me, but I thought where I ended it was best because it would have gone on way too long if I didn't. Anyway, leave your feedback I always like to hear your thoughts, and happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _Shatter like glass  
Come apart in my hands  
Take as long as it takes, girl  
Break on me  
Put your head on my chest  
Let me help you forget  
When your heart needs to break  
Just break on me_

 _-"Break On Me" Keith Urban_

Rory felt her heart-warming as she walked into her living room. She smelled the delicious smell of banana bread, one of Lilly's specialties, and heard the TV on low while playing _The Dick Van Dyke Show_. She looked down at the couch, and her smile widened. She saw Lilly curled up in Jess's side asleep, her blanket covering just above her nose, and her thumb slightly falling from where she had been chewing on the end. Jess was also asleep, his arm wrapped protectively around Lilly's small frame. He had his other arm splayed across his paperwork.

Rory quietly tip toed into the kitchen, hoping to not wake the two of them while she grabbed a piece of banana bread. The couch no longer an option, she spread her things out on the kitchen table. Rory had been working for a good 30 minutes when she was interrupted by soft and slow footsteps. She looked up to see a still sleepy Jess sitting down across from her.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Rory giggled into her coffee. His hair was mussed up, and he still had his hand slipping up and down his features. He mumbled something, and she jokingly leaned forward. "Hm? Sorry Sleepy, I didn't get that." She further mocked. He took his hands off his face, and looked at her with sleep filled eyes. Dare she say it looked kind of sexy?

"Screw you." He mumbled a bit louder before grabbing at her coffee pot. When he clanked the pot back into position, they both cringed hoping to have not woken Lilly. It had and said teenager walked through the entry way to the kitchen grumbling in a zombie like manner with her blanket still wrapped tightly around her.

Lilly sat down next to Rory, and stuck the end of her thumb into her mouth to bight on it, a random little tick she did when she was thinking. Rory watched her daughter with curiosity, Lilly was quite a deep thinker, but never when she had just woken up from a who knows how long nap. "What'cha thinkin' 'bout?" She asked the still sleepy girl.

"Huh?" Lilly sat up a bit straighter and pulled her thumb from between her teeth.

"What'cha thinkin' 'bout?" She asked again. Lilly thought for a moment longer indicating that what she had previously been thinking about wouldn't be the topic of her next sentence.

"Just what movie to watch tonight. I was thinking _Dirty Dancing_." She tried, albeit somewhat unsuccessful. Rory let it slide though and nodded her head in approval. The annual Gilmore movie night had been changed around for just Rory and Lilly when the schedules with Lorelai got too complicated, and Lilly wanted some normal Mom night instead of Grandma and Mom night.

The three people at the table soon fell into a comfortable silence. Lilly coughed slightly, and downed a cup of water rather quickly. She then stood up to leave the kitchen for the couch after grabbing a bag of chips. She didn't look back at the two adults in the kitchen, but decided it was best to not draw attention to herself, or draw it away from them. She heard some more shuffling of papers before either adult came back into the living room.

When Rory sat next to her, Lilly moved closer to her, but not before inviting Jess to sit on the couch with them. He quietly obliged, and sat down a bit close to Rory. Then the once quiet room filled with noise when "Be My Baby" started playing indicating the beginning of the movie. Looking at the content looks on their faces, Lilly knew they had acquired a new member for movie night.

 **XXX**

"I missed one day. _One day_! I shouldn't have this much to catch up on." Lilly groaned into her hands. She currently sat at the counter in the diner not even caring who heard her. She had her books spread out, and her notebooks on top of them. "Like, why did all my teacher's decide the day I miss school to give me a butt load of homework that needs to be made up tomorrow, and tonight's butt load as well? Teachers are idiots." Her pencil moved with such speed that shouldn't have been human, but she had to finish. She had to work.

She hated that she had to have another hospital visit the other night. Now she had to help make up the money, no matter what her mom told her. She was doing it, and nothing was stopping her. In all her ranting, Lilly had completely forgotten about the other patrons sitting next to her. Thankfully, one was Cat, who was in a current dream like state while thinking of Mark, and the other was Jess who didn't really care all that much as he kept working on his book.

He was trying to find ways to help Lilly and Rory with this past week's medical bill. He knew it wasn't his place, but he felt like he needed to pay her for helping him edit. He didn't care what she said, she deserved the money. So he was currently working on a new, crappier manuscript to help him actually get her to edit; thus allowing him to pay her. Or he could just pay the bill without her knowing, but that probably wouldn't go over well. Gilmores loved their pride.

Almost as soon as that thought passed through his mind, Rory stumbled into the diner having missed the top step. She seemed tired, and mumbled unintelligible things while trying to sit down at a stool. Luke didn't even hesitate to give her coffee, and then her head slumped as she looked at her phone. Jess tried to snag a look, but it was hidden by her hair. She continued to do whatever work she had to do on her phone before standing up to leave.

She kissed the top of Lilly's head and started out. However, as soon as her feet hit the pavement, Jess was standing behind her. She whipped around, still rather slow, and gave him a questioning yet tired glance. "I have to get back to work." She mumbled as she lifted her phone to eye level. Jess nodded, and thrust his arm out basically telling her to lead the way. She did, albeit grudgingly, and they soon fell into step with each other.

"I was hoping, if you could take a look at my next manuscript. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I thought you might enjoy it." He lied through his teeth. Rory rolled her eyes, she did not have time for another project, and this time she wasn't kidding. She had to work extra hard to get that Christmas bonus this year, no matter that Christmas wasn't for two more months, but she needed it to help pay Lilly's medical bills.

"Jess, I don't have time to play publisher at your beck and call. I need to work." She picked up as much speed as her tired legs could muster. She had worked almost non-stop since Lilly's migraine on Friday, and now it was starting to wear on her.

"I know, that's why I want to pay you again." He tried while also picking up his speed. She immediately slowed down as soon as he did, and it took all of his might to not crash into some random late season tourist. Rory's blue eyes looked into his brown trying to work her way through his mind. It was going to be unsuccessful, he knew that, but he couldn't help but silently love the way she tried to figure him out.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked with a bit more conviction in her tone. Jess had not expected that. He had thought she would immediately warm to the idea, run into his arms and maybe think about where they stood. Shows how much he knows about women. He mulled over a good way to approach this without offending her, but knew it best to just come out with the truth. It took him 20 years, but he now knew the good that comes with communication.

"I want to help. You need help. Lilly told me about all the medical issues she had, and I want to help you pay for them. Or at least help pay for how much it'll cost you from Friday." He tried, he really did, to sugar coat it enough to not throw a blow to her pride. The look in her eyes, a mix of hurt and anger, broke his heart.

"I have been doing just fine on my own. I have done this parenting, working, paying debt thing for 16 years without help from anyone. Not my mom, not my grandparents, not Luke, not anyone. No child support, no second income. Me. What makes you think now I can't do it?" She ranted with scorn in her voice. Rory wasn't sure who it was pointed at though; herself or him. She noticed Jess take in a deep breath, and she thought maybe she had been a bit harsh in her assumptions.

"I don't think that at all. I just thought, I could help out. You're a great mother, and you obviously are trying really hard… But we all need help sometimes." He wished he could have realized that when he was 17. She looked him over once more, realizing that he didn't think her inadequate or a failure. He just saw her as a friend who needed help. She didn't realize until now that's what she really was.

She wasn't sure if it was sleep deprivation, or her complete and utter need to let it all out, but Rory finally let herself succumb to her feelings and cry. A sob escaped her lips, and before she knew it Jess had pulled her in for a hug. She let herself completely break down as he led her through the streets of town. She didn't care who saw her, for once in her life she didn't care about appearances.

Jess held her close as they walked to one very special spot, and he let her soak his shirt through with her tears. He could tell this had been 16 years in the making. 16 years of pent up feelings, worries, angers that were finally rushing out in one big swoop. He sat her down on the side of the bridge, her face still buried in his chest, and he comforted her. Something that Jess Mariano was not known for.

He heard her mumble something, and looked down to see her face turned slightly toward the lake to talk better. "I s-sometimes feel like I-I'm drowning-ing." Rory admitted softly. She had never allowed herself to feel that way; Lilly was the best thing to happen to her, and no mother was supposed to feel like they weren't enough for their child. At the thought, another sob wracked her body.

He pulled her in a bit tighter before pushing back a bit to see her face better. Her normally bright, blue eyes were red and puffy, and her face was a deep shade of red from being pressed against his chest for so long. She sat there trembling, like she could break any moment. "It's ok to feel that way." Jess whispered. Rory shook her head.

"Not when you're a mother." She told him. A few more tears fell down her porcelain skin, and he so wanted to make all her pain go away. She was Rory Gilmore, she was the one with the good life, she shouldn't have pain. But she did, and it made Jess feel powerless.

"Even mothers feel like this every once in a while. Especially the single ones." He tried to remind her. She didn't move after he said that. She didn't think she had a right to a good mental breakdown. She had a right to watch after her kid. Her kid who needed her. Her kid who ended up in the hospital too much. Her kid who didn't have a father because she had been too selfish.

Rory's eyes flicked to Jess's face. He looked at her with understanding and compassion. She had feared that those were the elements that he wasn't yet capable of when she found out she was pregnant. But now here he was being the father figure to his daughter that he didn't even know was his. She hated herself in that moment. She knew if he found out he would hate her. She couldn't stand to live with that.

That began another round of tears. No longer were the pity invoking sobs, but the idiotic whimpers with fat drops of water falling from her eyes. She couldn't stand to tell him and lose him, but she couldn't stand to let him not know. She had a difficult decision to make. She felt even guiltier when he pulled her back to him. He held her and comforted her, but if he knew the thoughts swirling in her head he would most likely yell and kick and scream.

"It's gonna be ok." Jess said into her ear. She shook her head once again. He didn't deserve this.

"I can't lose you." She whispered almost inaudibly. Jess barely caught it, and he kissed her hair hoping to put an end to some of her worries. It didn't.

"You won't." He tried yet again to put her worries at bay. She nodded this time, another lie to add to the list. She didn't believe it, but maybe she could just pretend. Fake it till you make it as the saying went. She wasn't sure how much longer she could fake it.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Ok, long one! So I was so excited to post this chapter, and I like have been writing nonstop. I sadly like to keep to my schedule so you won't be seeing my new stuff till next week, but by then I should have the entire story typed out! So, yay! Well, happy reading and please review I enjoy hearing from you all and I like to know what you think since it betters me as a writer.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _I wanted the world until my whole world stopped,  
You know a love like that ain't easily forgot.  
I guess we all want what we ain't got.  
Yeah we all want what we ain't got._

 _-"What We Ain't Got" Jake Owen_

Lilly made her way silently to the door. Her mom had been in a state of strange silent thinking, and she was not to be interrupted. The blue eyed girl had her guitar in her hands as she made her way to the oh so close foyer. That's why it surprised her when the door suddenly burst open. But it didn't surprise her that it was Aunt Lane. "Hey, Baby." The Korean woman walked in nonchalantly and kissed Lilly's cheek.

Lilly embraced her beloved aunt. She was gone far too much for the Gilmore girls' taste with her random tours and what not. But it always made Lilly happy when Lane came back with a shirt or sweatshirt from whatever place she had travelled to with Hep Alien. The one thing Lilly had wanted to do was travel, and she was able to live vicariously through her Aunt Lane and Uncle Zach and occasionally Steve and Kwan.

"Where's your mama?" She asked walking farther in while Lilly walked farther out.

"Uh, upstairs. I gotta go. Love you, Aunt Lane." Lilly barely turned around quick enough to blow one last kiss before slamming the door shut behind her. Lane stood in the entry way, stricken with confusion. She made her way up the stairs to Rory's room, and she wondered if all the hubbub she had heard around town was true.

Lane moved the door slightly and stepped in. Rory was sprawled out on her bed, her hands covering her face, and her mouth going a mile a minute in her mumbling state. She looked hypnotized. "How come the moment I return to town, my mother runs up and tells me that the Devil is back in town? Rory, why didn't you tell me Jess was in town?" She prodded, not caring if she scared her friend.

Rory's eyes shot open when Lane started talking. She hadn't expected her for at least a day, and now she was questioning her on her past which had now caught up to the future. "I was going to tell you." She weakly tried to rationalize her part. Lane rolled her eyes.

"My kids told me what had been going on between you two. I find out the news on my best friend through my mom and my kids. Rory, what's going on?" Lane inquired even though Rory wasn't moving. Lane moved to lie down next to her best friend and wait for the answer. Even though she was a bit peeved, she knew that Rory was probably still coming to terms with it herself.

"He's here. Jess is here. A-and he's sweet, and he gets along with my kid, and he helps take care of my kid, and he wants me to edit his book so he can pay me for my kid's medical bills, and he loves Lilly like a father should love his daughter." She let it slip without realizing it. Lane's eyes widened and she gasped loudly making Rory realize what she said.

"Jess is Lilly's father?" She said the statement like a question even though she knew the answer. "Is that why he's in town?" She asked sitting up. Rory shook her head quickly.

"No, he-he doesn't even know. He just wants to help cause he's gotten attached to Lilly since being here. I had to take her to the hospital again, and Jess is trying to help me make ends meet. He's playing father to a daughter he doesn't know is his, and he's he's…." She trailed off not wanting to continue the thought. One that she had thought so many times especially since he had returned.

"He's playing husband." Lane finished. Rory nodded with tears in her eyes.

"He told me I'd never lose him." She whispered allowing the tears to escape. Her best friend came to the rescue and hugged her tightly. "I don't know what to do. I can't tell him, but I can't not tell him. I like how this is going. I'm starting to feel something for him, and I want to think he's feeling something for me."

"Ror, this is Jess. I know I didn't like him that much growing up, but maybe, from the way you've put it, he's changed. He sounds ready for a commitment. He's been around for a month, playing house with what he believes is another man's daughter, for you." She comforted. Rory nodded slightly, and let herself sit back.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." She turned to her friend with a broken smile on her face. "Tell me about your tour." She tried to change the subject, and for the moment it worked. And for the moment she stopped thinking about her daughter's father.

 **XXX**

"Stars Hollow's first Annual Country-athon." Jess read out loud with a hint of confusion in his voice. He didn't know what he was getting himself into when he walked through the doors of Crap Shack 2.0, but now he had wished he had stayed in the apartment.

Taylor had been looking for something to fill the end of September going into October, and he thought Fall equals football equals tailgates equals country music. It made sense to him and only him, and that was enough for the strange town of Stars Hollow. Jess had been dragged along by two very eager Gilmore girls, one who would be performing in the festival.

"Look, Mom. There's Grandma and Grandpa. I'm gonna go backstage and get ready." And then Lilly was gone. Jess followed Rory, who had seemed to be a bit more on edge around him when Lilly wasn't around, and sat next to his Uncle. It surprisingly didn't take long for the curtains to open and the lights to go up. Standing in the middle of the stage was Lilly holding her guitar, and Lee sitting right next to her.

"So, Taylor wanted me to go first cause he thought I would pull something?" She paused for laughter. "Me, pull something? Oh well, Taylor, thought you might be nice to me since I am dedicating one of the songs to you tonight, but whatever. Anyway, thanks all for coming. This is apparently for charity, but everything in this town is so…" She was shot a dark glare from Taylor. "Alright I guess I'm singing now."

" _I still smell the smoke, I still taste the crown, I still feel the vinyl of the backseat with the windows half way down._ " Lilly moved her fingers over the guitar and started singing. She sounded better than when Jess had first heard her in the diner. He looked over to see Rory beaming at her daughter, tears of pride pricking at the corners of her eyes.

" _Love poured out like a limo onto the highway after the prom. Time ran down like a score board on the last Hail Mary bomb. And my heart's still stuck at a stop light with you sittin' there next to me. And the red light won't turn green, yeah it won't turn green. Damn you seventeen._ " Lilly and Lee harmonized perfectly. At that point, the dam holding back Rory's tears had broken, and she was openly crying with pride. It didn't go unnoticed by the two adults how much the song reminded them of their past relationship.

The song came to a close, and Lee took his leave from the stage. Lilly stayed put though looking into the crowd with joy. "Now I'm gonna get into the spirit of country music. I'm dedicating this one to my mama. Love you mom." Then she started another song just as full of passion as before.

" _Well, she loves me more than anything, and she wants the world for me. Her West dropped off in El Paso and her North in Abilene. Hey, Mama I'm okay out here I've seen how hard the world can be. My step is sure and I know my name. I'm strong just like you prayed I'd be. I'm strong just like you prayed I'd be._ " That's when Rory really lost it. She loved Lilly so much, and she was so proud. Next to her, Lorelai was crying and hugging her close, both beaming through their tears with pride.

"And now, I don't know how, but I talked Taylor into letting me sing one more song…. Anyway, this one's dedicated to you, old guy!" Being called 'old guy' obviously didn't sit well with Taylor, and he sat up slightly to protest but Lilly had already began strumming.

It started out normal enough, and it seemed like something Taylor might even possibly like. Jess tried really hard to hold in laughter when Lilly sang the chorus. " _You're hanging over, but you're hanging in. You're starting to look like all of your friends. Conversations turning from Rock n' Roll to kids and politics and how much money you owe. Got bags under your eyes, bigger hips and bigger thighs, you got places that ya can't even itch. You can nip and tuck and squeeze it, but you're never gonna beat it cause gravity's a bitch_."

Rory slapped Jess's arm slightly chuckling herself. Taylor started to stand up, but was pushed back by Miss Patty. The entire town was laughing, and Taylor's face was as red as the tomatoes he sells. The second time the chorus was sang, Jess and Rory couldn't hold it in any longer. First, it was Jess. He lost it completely laughing like an idiot at the passive aggressive way Lilly had chosen to annoy Taylor. He couldn't believe she had gotten away with it, he couldn't believe Rory's daughter had beat the old goat at his own game.

Next to him, Rory was dying. She had held it in much better than Jess had, but all good things come to an end. She looked up into her daughter's mischievous smirk, and all her hope of keeping it together went out the window. The song had barely ended when Taylor ran up on stage. Lilly had been smart about it and started running a bit before she had even been able to finish the last few chords. That made Rory laugh even harder.

Lilly ran down the side of the stage straight into her mother's arms. She took the seat Jess had just moved out of to give her room. Now she was another thing in the way of her mom and Jess getting together. Rory's arm flew protectively around her daughter's torso, and Jess sat a bit straighter as Taylor approached. "Lilly Gilmore!" He shouted. Jess stood up, making sure Taylor knew the differences in age and strength between them. "Never mind." He shrunk away.

Rory kissed Lilly's forehead, Lilly sporting a smirk and pointing at her friends while laughing. Before she could even say anything, or hear any praise from her family, music started playing again as Steve and Kwan played "House Party." That was the end of the shenanigans for one night.

 **XXX**

"Who was that annoying girl who kept singing Taylor Swift songs really horribly?" Jess asked as he and the second generation Gilmore girls walked up the porch to the Crap Shack 2.0. Lilly snorted and Rory held back a retort. They looked between each other before turning to the man in their doorway.

"That would be Cissy Forester…" Lilly kept back all her comments, but still said the name with malice in her voice. Jess groaned audibly, making Lilly confused and Rory unsurprised.

"You're telling me the jolly green giant reproduced?" He stepped farther into the dimly lit house. Lilly nodded again and rolled her eyes. She absolutely hated Cissy Forester. And Dean Forester wasn't too great either.

"They're the reason I can never amount to anything in this town. Stupid Cissy had her daddy buy everything for her. Mr. Forester apparently hit it big in the building industry, he gets Cissy anything she wants no matter the price. Even if it means I have to sit on the sidelines while she makes every sports team I ever tried out for lose all their games. Even if it means getting Lee's dad one of the best lawyers ever because if Cissy can't have him, no one can." Lilly explained while she grabbed the Ovaltine and a mug.

"Wait, Dean made Lee move to Boston?" He looked to Rory for confirmation. She nodded her head begrudgingly. "What did you ever see in him?" He questioned. Lilly's head snapped around from the microwave to her mother and Jess. Her mom had liked Mr. Forester?

"I was young and dumb. First loves don't always work out the way you think." Rory told him. Lilly sat stunned. Her mom had _loved_ Mr. Forester. Her sworn enemy's father. It was wrong on so many levels. Jess rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"He was always a jerk. It just took the dance marathon for you to notice it." He pointed at her. Rory internally flinched. _Not the marathon, not here, not in front of Lilly._ She thought. She could not deal with this here, tonight. "Oh, and let's not forget the story of how he made you the other woman." He mentioned, throwing Rory into a whole other state of worry. Lilly knew a lot about her past, but not all this.

"If he hadn't broken up with me at that party I wouldn't have dated Logan." She pointed out. Jess scoffed and rolled his eyes again. He couldn't believe he and Rory were getting into this fight tonight.

"He cheated on you, and then you came to me to cheat on him!" He raised his voice slightly. Rory visibly flinched, and Lilly had a quick intake of air. "Face it, Ror. You always came back to me." In that moment he had completely forgotten Lilly was in the room, and it wasn't until it was too late. Now he was openly discussing their previous love life that Rory didn't want her daughter to know about.

Lilly was confused beyond reason, but she knew one thing. Her mom and Jess had had a thing in the past. And it had something to do with Cissy Forester's dad and Logan "Douche-y McDouchebag" Huntzberger.

"Get out." Rory said in a low voice. Jess softened as he tried to plead his case. "I said get out." Lilly watched as Jess slowly slunk out the back door, and her mom slowly began to sit in the nearest kitchen chair. She had her head in her hands, and Lilly could see Jess light a cigarette outside the window as he looked in at the picture. "I lost him." Rory's voice cracked. Her shoulders convulsed with a sob, and suddenly the door was swung back open.

Jess rushed back in, Lilly had watched him throw down his cigarette in a way that said "screw it," and pulled Rory into his arms. He had never been an affectionate person, but there was something about Rory and Lilly Gilmore that had turned him mushy. Rory latched onto him, and the way that Jess hugged her and shushed her lovingly proved to Lilly how much they loved each other after nearly 18 years apart.

"I lost you." Rory whispered. Jess shook his head and tightened his embrace. She wasn't losing him; not now, not ever.

"Never." His reply was a bit muffled by her hair. She sniffed and nodded slowly. After a few minutes, Lilly decided it was safe to breathe and started going about the kitchen. She pulled out some hot chocolate unnoticed by the two adults locked in a death grip embrace. "You've gotten emotional in your old age, Gilmore." Jess decided comic relief best fit now.

"You're not exactly the tough guy you were as a kid either, Mariano. You've gone soft." Rory retorted. They had gotten over their previous fight rather quickly. Lilly was surprised how quickly they changed from angry to bantering. Their joking soon ended, and a new silence fell over the three of them. Rory yawned audibly causing Lilly to yawn as well.

"I'm gonna go to sleep." Rory said quietly. She picked herself up from the chair she was in, glanced slightly Jess's way, kissed Lilly's forehead, and headed for bed. After she had left, Lilly felt safe enough to start making her hot chocolate. Jess sat unmoving, deep in thought. Rory had been having an obviously difficult time with him being there in the beginning, and now she freaked out when he had barely even stepped out the door. It confused him, and worried him at the same time.

The ding from the microwave brought him from his reverie, and Lilly looked at him apologetically when his head whipped around. He waved his hand as she sat down, and looked between her and the way to the staircase. Lilly pretended she didn't notice as she walked to the living room. Jess didn't follow her like he normally would have. Instead, he made himself a hot chocolate and grabbed a few cookies from the pantry.

He walked into the living room, holding a cookie for Lilly. He looked oddly domestic in the teenager's eyes, something she didn't really expect of the Kerouac want-to-be. The TV had already been turned on to Netflix. Way before Jess had entered the room, Lilly had pressed play on a random episode of _Psych_. Jess noticed how she didn't sing the theme song with her normal joking manner.

He nudged her slightly. "You ok, Kid?" He asked with a look of concern. The way he asked about her made Lilly once again think of how he was acting like a father figure. She looked over him, and noticed the worry filling his eyes. She nodded slightly, took a bite of her cookie, and turned back to the show. She still didn't seem fine, but Jess didn't say anything. He knew what it was like to have adults press for information.

"Do you love her?" She asked quickly while turning to him. Jess nearly choked on the hot chocolate he had been sipping on. He looked at Lilly with complete confusion. She had gone quiet again while he regained his composure. "Do you love her? My mom?" She asked once again. Jess understood now, and for the first time ever he told someone his feelings.

"Yeah. I know now that I never stopped. 20 years. You think that's too much pining?" He made sure to change the conversation a bit so that it wasn't so _Hallmark Channel_. Lilly shook her head slightly stared at the TV for a second before returning to the conversation.

"No. It sounds kind of like Gatsby or Darcy or Pip and Estella or _The Notebook_ or Cory and Topanga or even Mulder and Scully." She made pop culture reference after reference. Jess chuckled slightly at the complete change from classic novels to 90's TV shows and Nicholas Sparks movies.

"Hey, Mulder and Scully were completely platonic." He threw her way. Lilly smiled and chuckled. He at least was able to keep up with the witty remarks. Obviously he would do just fine for her mother.

"No, I think you need to re-watch that. They were anything but platonic, and he pined for her for nine years, and then they were separated for like eight years, and he obviously still loved her. Get with the program, Mariano." She sipped her hot chocolate in a mocking manner. Jess shook his head and laughed quietly.

"You need to stop re-watching that, and this," He pointed to Shawn Spencer making up another nickname for Gus. She stopped listening to exclaim the nickname, but her attention was drawn back to the adult sitting next to her. "Or maybe you should just read more." Jess poked at her shoulder. She pulled back jokingly and nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah, I totally don't have enough to read." She rolled her eyes. "It's Mom's fault really. She didn't push it on me enough growing up." She giggled. Jess laughed a bit louder from irony. Because _of course,_ Rory Gilmore would _never_ convince her daughter to read. They once again fell into silence that was occasionally broken by Lilly laughing at the show.

The blue eyed teenager finished her hot chocolate, and looked at Jess expectantly. He looked back at her with a just as expectant look. "I give you my blessing." She told him sincerely. He smiled softly.

"What is this? _The Godfather_?" He joked. Lilly shook her head, her once hopeful look a bit more serious. Jess didn't expect that look.

"Look, Jess. I know you love my mom. You just told me so. But obviously my mom has been hurt before, and she hasn't made the best choices in men since I was born. Did you know that Logan Huntzberger was almost my step-dad? But I think she loves, or still loves you. I am giving you my blessing to be with her because I know that she wants my approval on the guys she dates. And you know if you hurt her you will have all of Stars Hollow and Emily Gilmore coming for you." She explained. The man nodded his head in understanding. He loved Rory, and he loved Lilly.

"I am never gonna hurt your mom. I messed up once, and I'm not gonna let that happen again." He promised her. Lilly nodded with finality as she turned toward the TV. She knew she could trust Jess. She wanted her mom to know she could trust Jess.

Lilly had been so lost in thought, she didn't know that Jess had fallen asleep next to her. She flipped off the TV and headed to her room. Rory would have a good surprise to wake up to. Jess didn't leave. Lilly felt like she knew he was gonna be around for a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Aw man, I just know this one is a good chapter! Ok so exciting news to the people who read these, but I have finished pre-writing this story! It's going to officially have 16 chapters in total, and all is written. I am just so excited and happy about that cause now it's just some editing here and there.**

 **AN 2: So now that the exciting stuff is out of the way, I wanted to broach something with you all, my fabulous readers. Now I love this story, and I want to continue posting it, but I feel like either no one reads it, or no one really appreciates it enough. Maybe I'm just being paranoid and that writer, but I have just felt kind of discouraged for how little reviews I've been getting. So if you enjoy this at all please please please review. It doesn't even need to be that extensive. Just a 'Hey good chapter can't wait for the next one' will suffice. Cause I feel like that if not enough people are reading and enjoying (which is easier for me to tell with reviews) then I don't see a point in continuing to post this, that I worked incredibly hard on.**

 **AN 3: Sorry to give a long, probably whiny sounding author's note, but I just wanted you all to know how I felt on the subject and help me know if I should really continue posting. Cause not only do reviews make me feel better, sometimes if they have ideas or constructive criticism it helps me become a better writer. Anyway, happy reading. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and again please review I enjoy hearing what you think. It always brightens my day.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Oh, hey little girl, listen to my plea  
I come with a lifetime guarantee  
One day maybe you will find the baby makes three_

 _-"Ladies' Choice" Hairspray, Link Larkin_

Lilly jovially walked through town linking arms with Cat. Sadly, in all the uproar with the town and the Lilly having to go to the hospital the two best friends hadn't gotten to really see each other. Cat was, as usual, listening to Lilly ramble on and on, only getting a few words in edgewise. She did enjoy it; Lilly could talk enough for the both of them, and Cat wasn't much of a talker anyway. She did occasionally pipe in with her thoughts and tell a small story she had of her brother.

"Well, I guess that's enough about me," Lilly prodded at her friend. "What's new in your life?" She was genuinely curious. That was the thing about Lilly. She could talk about herself or about the things she wanted to talk about, but she knew that it was important to listen to others and pay attention. Her mother had taught her from a young age to be kind to almost everyone, as long as their last name was Forester.

"N-nothing really." Cat tried to shy away from the subject of her own life. She did really only share her personal life with Lilly, but she just wasn't in the mood to talk that afternoon. Lilly threw a pointed look her way, but nodded and continued walking in a comfortable silence.

Lilly was thrown for a loop when Cat jumped suddenly, and faced her with a look that said for itself how much Cat needed to talk. "It's about Mark." She whispered, her eyes filling with what looked to the brunette as embarrassment. Lilly nodded her head, begging for Cat to continue. The blonde drew in a shaky breath like she wasn't really sure if she actually wanted to talk about it.

"I-I saw him, with Cissy. A-and they were making out. A-and I just, I thought…" She faltered, eyes welling up with tears in the middle of town. Lilly pulled her forward, and rushed towards the diner.

"No ya don't. Not here. Come on, Honey." Lilly tugged, hoping to keep Cat from losing it in the square where everyone would see her break down. The bell dinged, and the duo swiftly bounded up the stairs. Once again, the youngest Gilmore didn't care that Jess was currently living there, and possibly working since he wasn't occupying the diner.

Jess was surprised to see Lilly dragging an upset Cat through what he and Luke had now labeled his apartment. Lilly waved her hand and rushed Cat to the bathroom, as the door shut he heard the green eyed girl whimper. He thought it best that he leave it alone. On the other side of the door, the two best friends sat on the floor. Lilly holding Cat while she cried.

"Honey, Mark is crazy about you. He's too shy to admit it. He would never purposefully go with Cissy. That's not like him. He's too loyal to the both of us, he _would not_ do that." She tried to stress. Cat tried to nod, but her head fell forward with the next wave of tears. The taller of the two grabbed an unused roll of toilet paper, knowing full well that Jess wouldn't have normal tissues.

"I mean, she's gorgeous. Why wouldn't he want to be with her?" She cried into the toilet paper. Lilly's hand ran up and down her arm reassuringly.

"Honey Babe," She whispered the dumb nickname that Rory had come up with ten years previous. "I know that I don't have a dad or anything so this is kind of ironic, but as Frenchy said: 'Men are rats. They're flees on rats. They're amoebas on flees on rats. They're too low for even the dogs to bite. The only guy a girl can depend on is a daddy.'" She giggled the end of it. Cat giggled slightly too, and Jess had heard the last of the conversation tried to suppress his own chuckles. "At least in my case I can depend on a grandpa, but you get the gist." That statement made Jess worry about Lilly and how she was actually doing.

"I'm sorry." Cat whispered. Lilly shook her head and reached for her best friend. She placed the toilet paper on the ground to hug her more closely.

"No biggie. You're coming to my house tonight, and we'll get Doula and watch movies _all_ night. Because as _Grease_ taught us: hanging out with your girlfriends fixes broken hearts. And then the mean one goes off the get some, but we ain't got nothin' to get. So you're stuck with us." She tried to cheer up her oldest friend. Cat giggled, and nodded her tears finally dissipating. Lilly pulled her in for one more hug. "Love you." She said hoping that Cat knew that she still had her. Cat nodded and murmured a reply.

Jess could tell the brunt of the conversation was over, and he dashed toward the table to keep up the illusion that he had not been snooping, but doing his work the whole time. His head bobbed up to meet Lilly's eyes, she silently thanked him and lead Cat back down to the diner.

 **XXX**

The door was unlocked when Jess creeped in. Well, not creeped in. That sounded, for lack of better word, creepy. He was just trying to make sure that Rory got his extremely crappy manuscript that she could edit so he could help pay her to pay off Lilly's medical bills. He immediately heard the sounds of a movie, a musical, and remembered that Lilly was having her friends over to mend Cat's heart.

"Wait, wait I'm Link!" Lilly yelled at Cat and Doula who nodded while dancing horribly. "Waaaahhh!" Lilly threw her arm out and whipped her head down to make her hair fly everywhere. Then all three girls went back to singing poorly at the top of their lungs. Jess knew it was all for fun since he had heard all three sing at the Country-athon earlier that month.

No one looked up as he made his way to the kitchen where he was almost certain Rory would be. He found her sitting in front of her computer, a coffee in one hand and some animal crackers in the other. She jumped when he made his presence known by coughing in her direction. "Who are you? Fang?" Her literary reference lost on him. " _Maximum Ride_ , one of Lil's favorites." She further explained at his quizzical look.

"I brought over the manuscript." He said placing it in front of her. Rory rolled her eyes and huffed. Jess took that moment to look at her computer. "Are you planning a trip?" He questioned. She once again rolled her eyes.

"There's this thing called not butting into people's business. You should try it sometime." She sounded annoyed. Jess sat down across from her, hoping to irritate her like he did growing up. She pushed the manuscript back in his direction. "I told you I don't have time for this."

Now was Jess's turn to roll his eyes. "I know, but if you could just look at it?" He tried to throw in the old charm he was really good at. He could see her softening slightly, and knew she was close to giving in. She suddenly snapped out of it.

"No tricks, mister!" She exclaimed catching on to his ploy. Jess shook his head in mock disappointment. "Your wiles no longer work on this girl." She threw in. He feigned a hurt expression.

"My wiles?" He scoffed, causing her to giggle. At least she was no longer annoyed with him. That was always a plus. Rory's head bobbed up and down as she continued to giggle, snacking on the hand full of animal crackers. "Where are you planning to go?" He changed the subject. The woman across from him suddenly lost her sense of child-like enthusiasm and switched to serious mom.

"I had wanted to do something special for Lilly this fall break, 'cause she really wants to travel. I'm afraid I can't swing it this year." She told him, looking at her computer longingly. "But, it's not like we've ever been able to go on vacation before, so hopefully it won't be too big a disappointment." She refilled her coffee cup, and offered him some. Jess shook his hand and continued to stare at her as she looked online. "I had thought of a small trip to Newport, but I don't think it'll work out like I hoped."

"When is her fall break?" He asked, he had an idea. A really good idea. Rory looked at him a bit surprised, but didn't think too much about it as she gave him the dates.

"The 22nd to the 30th." She looked back at the screen typing in another somewhat local place to go for a few days.

"Huh." The response drew her attention back to the writer at her table. His plan worked out even better than he had thought it would. She looked at him with questioning in her eyes, and she couldn't help but notice the mischievous glimmer in his eyes. "That just so happens to be the week that I have to go back to Philly to meet with my partners. Come with me." He told her.

The way he had said 'come with me.' Took her back to the end of her freshman year at Yale. She sometimes regretted saying no. "You guys can stay at the apartment above Truncheon, and go see stuff around town, and Lilly will finally get to travel somewhere, and it'll be free." The offer sounded so enticing. Too enticing.

"What's the catch?" She knew that Jess was usually genuine, but this sounded too good to be true.

"No catch," He pushed. "Just a good fall break for Lilly, a break from work for you, and a place to stay for free. There is the added bonus that I'm there, but that's no different from here." Jess's signature smirk graced his features as he said the last part. Rory smiled a bit at that too.

"I'll think about it." She told him. She reached for the manuscript a second later. "I'll think about this as well." She promised. He held up his hands in a surrendering way.

"That's all I ask." He stood up and pushed his chair back to its original position. "Alright, I'm out. See you in the morning." He walked through the living room waved to the girls and left. He was happy as he walked through town, and he didn't know it, but he should have been thankful he didn't hear the end of the girls' conversation.

"Your mom and my brother. I'm gonna be your aunt." Doula pointed at Lilly who swatted her finger away. They were especially thankful that Rory didn't hear the end of that one.

 **XXX**

"What do you mean you're possibly going on vacation with _Jess_?" Lorelai said extremely loudly into the phone. Rory rolled her eyes at the fact that even though he had changed Lorelai still had apprehension about Jess. But in all seriousness, who was she to question it. She had kept his daughter from him.

"I don't know," She replied to her hyperactive mother. "He was just so sweet about it all, and he wanted to help out with Lilly, and I don't know." She had already done at least three pro and con lists, and on every one the pros outweighed the cons.

"Sweets, are you falling for Jess?" Lorelai asked. One question she had asked many, many years ago. One question that had been denied falsely. Rory faltered on the other end, and Lorelai knew her answer. "Fruit of my loins, you have been on this crazy roller coaster one too many times. And I think that you should get off before the loopty loops get to you and you throw up all over the fat guy in front of you." To a normal person that statement would make no sense, but it came loud and clear to Lorelai III.

"No, no… I don't know. It's just Lilly, and Jess, and…" She couldn't coherently think of what to say. So not like her. Lorelai gasped on the other end, causing Rory to jump in surprise.

"How did I not know this? How did I not figure it out? I just thought Lilly was especially like me. Why didn't you tell me? I need to know when my granddaughter is half demon. How did I not see the signs: exorcist baby, pulling pranks on Taylor, not liking authority, doodling in books before she could write! Your kid doodled! Ha, how, huh, ah!" Lorelai finished her rant, and kind of left Rory a bit scared that she would need to be institutionalized soon. "Lilly is Jess's daughter!" She practically screamed into the phone.

Rory was so glad she knew her mother was safely tucked away in her bedroom so no one could hear her. "Mom, you can't let anyone find out. You can't even tell Luke." At that moment exactly Luke walked into his and Lorelai's room having heard the phone on speaker and the shouting.

"Luke already knows." He said into the receiver. Rory groaned and threw her face into her hands. "I figured it out a week after Jess came to town." Rory was internally thankful that he hadn't told her mother.

"You didn't tell me!" Lorelai yelled at her husband.

"I thought it would be best to let Rory go to you with it." He defended himself. Lorelai quieted down a bit, and Rory let out a long breath.

"Yes, Jess is Lilly's father." She knew that Lorelai was incredibly close to saying something, but cut her off before a sound left the older woman's lips. "I was dumb, and scared, and with Logan. So I decided the best decision was to play it off as though Lilly was someone's at Yale while me and Logan were broken up. He bought it, and that's what I told Jess. Now Jess think's Lilly is Marty's."

"Wait, Naked Guy?" Lorelai snickered into the phone. Rory's sigh gave her the answer. "You theoretically shacked up with Naked Guy!" Now the whole situation was turned around into a joke. She heard Luke snort slightly, and it made her realize how weird the scenario she had been saying for 16 years was.

"I thought that maybe if he was happy, and in Philly, and we were getting along well, that I could tell him there." Rory confessed. Even though she couldn't see it, she knew her mother and step-father were nodding their heads. "I think I'm gonna tell him that we'll go."

"That will be fun." Lorelai tried to be supportive.

"Do it. It's what's best." Luke said to her. He said it would be best, but he was still secretly rooting for Jess and Rory after 20 years. And he really enjoyed no conflict.

"Looks like we're going to Philly." The conversation ended almost immediately after that. As soon as the conversation was over, Lilly barged through the front door after her long school day. Rory made her way down to the living room where her daughter would be doing homework and watching TV.

Lilly acknowledged her mother's presence with a slight grunt, it was so Jess like it was scary. "What are your thoughts on Philadelphia?" Rory asked. The teenager's head shot up from her pre-calculus when she realized she was being talked to.

" _Fresh Prince, Boy Meets World_." She said with ease and a slight giggle. Rory smiled along with her.

"No, I mean as a mini vacation. For fall break?" Lilly's face lit up. Rory knew that was a good sign.

"I would love to go. How are we getting there? Where are we staying?" She was extremely excited and pumping out questions a mile a minute. "How are we going to pay for it?" Her blue eyes lost a bit of the spark that had been there with the original thought. Rory's heart broke slightly thinking how much their financial issues weighed on the teenager who shouldn't have to worry about it.

"Uh, well… Jess invited us to go with him. He's got some stuff to do at his store, and he said he had extra room available, and that we would be all set." The statement felt kind of weird.

"Huh." Lilly muttered. It killed Rory to see how much Jess was shining through her daughter. They needed this trip. Hopefully it would go according to plan, and they could return to Stars Hollow somewhat happy. "It sounds like a great idea, Mom." Lilly held her arms out to be hugged. Rory smiled brightly, before standing up.

"I'll go tell Jess." She felt nervous. The 16-year-old nodded, and turned back to her homework. There was at least one part of Rory in her.

She set out to go and tell Jess to his face. She knew that he would probably be expecting a no through text, but she thought that seeing him would put her fears for the trip at rest. He was seated at the gazebo, a book in his hand, so much like his 17-year-old self. Rory carefully sat down on the bench next to him.

"Hey." He didn't even look up, but he knew it was her. She was the one thing that he really knew.

"I'm hear about your offer." She mumbled. She had been an idiot to think that going to him personally would calm her nerves. He always had a way about him that heightened her every feeling. He could never dull them.

"It's fine that you don't want to go. Just thought I'd ask." He flipped the page of his book. Rory shook her head, and thought of what to say next.

"No, I-I came to say that it sounds like a great idea. I wanted to accept your offer." She felt a bit giddy when his eyes met hers. Her heart nearly stopped as she looked upon the genuine smile playing at his lips. Her brain wanted her to lean in, place her own smile on his. Her hands wanted to run through his hair, and her cheeks blushed a bright pink as her thoughts raced with different scenarios.

"Good." And with that he placed his book in his back pocket. He smirked as he felt her eyes watching him. He could feel her penetrating stare moving up and down his back. He had so badly wanted to kiss her nervously twitching lips that had been extremely close to smiling. He wanted to hold her in his arms when she was crying. He wanted to make her and her daughter happy. He wanted them as a family. It was dumb, but that's what he wanted.

There was just something about those Gilmore Girls.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hey Hey! Ok, so I just loved hearing from all you guys last week thank you, please keep it up. I do want to apologize cause I felt like I was being that writer who just always complains and asks for reviews, and I don't want to be that writer. Ok, so here is the chapter about Philly, or at least heading to Philly. I must say I think I outdid myself in the cute factor on this chap. So, yeah I hope you like it! I did enjoy writing this, and I just love this story so much! Oh yeah, so I've got another idea for a Lit story in the future and I've been working on it some, so tell me if you think I should continue with it and post it. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines  
And the junkyards and the highways come between us  
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother  
'Cause she turned and I was gone  
I still might run in silence tears of joy might stain my face  
And the summer sun might burn me 'til I'm blind  
But not to where I cannot see  
You walkin' on the backroads  
By the rivers flowing gentle on my mind_

 _-"Gentle On My Mind" Glenn Campbell_

"Ok, you're going on vacation with my brother! I swear by the end of the month, I'm gonna be your aunt." Doula repeated herself for the fifth time that hour. She was currently splayed on Lilly's bed while she packed, and Cat sat at the desk. Since the Cissy debacle, the two more rambunctious girls hadn't let Cat out of their sights. Even Steve, Kwan, and Lee had become Cat's personal body guards against their best friend.

"We're sort of cousins though. My mom and Jess are like step-cousins. Isn't that incest?" Lilly threw another sweatshirt into the bag. Doula threw a pair of socks at her cousin's head.

"Technically it's not since your mom and Jess aren't blood related." Cat finally decided to pipe in. The other two girls in the room nodded in understanding.

"And, don't you want Jess and your mom to get together?" Doula countered. Lilly once again nodded. She had told her friends the plan, and they had automatically wanted in on it. All three girls were trying to get Rory and Jess together. They were calling it Operation Literati.

"Well, yeah. Operation Literati has been in the works since he practically got to town. But my mom's stubborn. She doesn't want to see that she has feelings for Jess. And then she starts to show and clams back up again. It's a vicious cycle." The bag was finished and zipped up. A movement by the window drew the girls' attention.

"The swan is attacking!" Doula shouted. They had come up with code names for both adults. Jess being the swan for obvious reasons, and Rory was the raven from the time that she had taken the Pottermore test and gotten Ravenclaw.

Lilly threw her pillow at Doula's head. "They're going to catch on if we use that too much." Lilly took one more final sweep. "Ah jeez. I forgot to pack my books." She frantically started throwing random books that were unfinished into her bag. She did throw in a couple favorites like _Anne of Green Gables_ (she didn't care how childish it was), _Maximum Ride_ , _Les Miserables_ , and _Pride and Prejudice_.

"You got enough books there, Swan?" Jess questioned walking in. The girls froze. He couldn't be catching on, they only used the names in secret. "What you don't like it? Thought I'd try out a nickname. I mean you were attacked by a swan, and you watch that show where the main character's name is Swan… Ok, I'll take that as a no." He grabbed the bags and headed out towards his car.

"That was close." Cat whispered to her best friends. Both heads rapidly bobbed stunned looks still on their faces. They heard Rory heading down the stairs, and Cat jumped at the opportunity to use the codenames. "The raven has left the tower!" Resulting in a fit of giggles.

"Lill, let's go! We'll miss our flight." Jess called up the stairs. Rory joined him at the base.

"And children who do not share my DNA, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but get out." They shared a knowing glance. The girls rushed down the stairs. They hugged, and Doula whispered something in Lilly's ear.

"I can hear the bells." She got a friendly swat, and then Cat and Lilly shared a long hug as she told her reassuring things. Jess was getting annoyed; Rory was slightly less annoyed, but impatient none the less.

"Jeez, she's not shipping off to 'Nam." He exasperated. Rory hit his arm playfully, remembering the first time she had heard him say that. He smirked at her thus leading Doula, Cat, and Lilly to all smirk at each other. "Ok, let's get to the car."

As they drove out of town, Lilly waved to all her friends. She did see Cissy Forester, and she flipped her off. Rory caught that in the mirror, and took Lilly's phone for the rest of the way down to Philly. "But, Mom. I've heard all the crappy stuff on planes, I need my phone." She whined in the backseat.

"Well you should have thought of that before you flipped off Cissy." Rory placed the phone in her purse, and Lilly huffed in frustration. At least she didn't get her books taken away.

"You earned points in my book for flipping off a Forester." Jess told her. Lilly smiled a bit, and continued reading _The Jewel_. Rory slapped his arm a bit harder than her playful one at the house.

"You're a horrible influence on my daughter." She exasperated. She had been so close to saying our daughter. Like all the times before. She wanted to get it out in the open. Rip it off like a band aid. But it wasn't that easy. It was a nearly 17-year-old lie, and she had dug herself an incredibly deep grave.

"But, Mom. What if it's like _Lost_ , yeah? And our plane crashes, and we're on an island, and you're dead. Body and purse both still on the plane while I'm on shore. You and my phone will obviously have no way of getting to me since you're dead and my phone is an inanimate object. What then?" She tried to go the classic Gilmore pop culture speak.

"But, what if it's the whole thing with Bernard? Where I go to the bathroom with your phone, and the plane crashes. You think I'm dead, but I'm just trapped by the others with your phone. And then you get cured of cancer, but you don't have cancer so we're all good here. Well, maybe Jess got cured of lung cancer." The tangents they went on were incredibly strange.

"Well it's a good thing we don't fly over the ocean on the way to Philadelphia from Hartford. And I don't have lung cancer. What would make you think that?" He was bewildered by the way they continued to mention the flaws and plots of _Lost_ , yet still be listening to what he said.

"Well, the cigarettes you smoked."

"I remember you liking the way those tasted. And I quit, eighteen years ago." He made Rory blush the same red as her coat. Lilly's eyes darted knowingly between the two. They were finally talking about their past. In front of her. It was like two steps forward. Operation Literati was moving accordingly.

"No, I was glad you didn't smoke that." She retorted not even caring anymore if Lilly heard them. Jess snorted.

"You never told me not to any other times." He pointed. Her original flush had dissipated, but was quickly replaced by a searing crimson from the way he talked about their relationship. It sounded worse than it had actually been. Rory noticed how engrossed her daughter was in one of the many books she had brought with her, and was a bit thankful that she probably wasn't paying attention. It didn't matter what she thought earlier while bantering. There were some things you don't share with your kids.

The rest of the ride was passed in uncomfortable silence. The only thing that made a sound was Lilly flipping the pages in her book, and the soft sound of the radio. "We're here." Jess said to make the women retreat from their thought induced comas. Lilly's about her book, Rory's about her decision. Both snapped out of it rather quickly and clamored for their bags.

Lilly was in complete shock from being in the airport. She had never driven anywhere besides Hartford and New Haven, let alone flown anywhere. They had never had the money, and she accepted that. Jess smirked with happiness knowing that he had caused the look of awe in the 16-year-old's eyes. Rory smiled at him for helping make the trip possible.

They were sitting in the waiting area to board. Lilly's book bag was placed against the seat she was curled up in. They had decided on a late flight that Friday night so they would have all day Saturday and Sunday before Jess's meeting really began. She had her legs close to her chest, and her head lay on Rory's shoulder. Her feet were pushing slightly at Jess's side, he didn't mind. His hand was placed on the foot closest to him, and he had his own nose stuck in a book. All three of them did.

Jess was beginning to get bored when he looked over and saw both Gilmores' glasses falling down their noses. He had told them they had an earlier flight since he knew that the blue eyed girls would obviously run late. He was surprised that they had been ready on time, and now they were exceptionally early for their flight.

He stared at Rory intensely. She was beautiful when she concentrated like that. She didn't care that her glasses had almost fallen completely off the bridge of her nose, she didn't notice how much hair had come undone from her ponytail and was sitting in her eyes, she didn't feel his penetrating stare that was so filled with love. Jess was brought back to reality when Lilly accidentally kicked him in the side while stretching.

"My bad." She mumbled and flipped the next page. Jess didn't mind. But he thought he might as well give Lilly a little bit of a hard time for possibly bruising his ribs. He honestly thought she had played soccer in her younger years despite being a Gilmore and by default hating all exercise.

He reached over and grabbed her book from her hands. She was tired after a long week of tests, and it took a few moments to register with her. She sat up quickly, kicking her bag down in the process. Jess held it out of reach while Lilly tried to grab it back. He stood up as she grew more determined, and with his sudden movement gained Rory's attention. Lilly took that moment to jump on his back in a last resort to getting her book from his clutches.

"Jess, give her the book back." Rory tried to sound mom like, but was failing. Jess looked like he thought it over for a second before shaking his head. Rory stood up to try and grab the book as well. They were making a scene, and they knew it. Lilly giggled as Jess tried to stay out of Rory's arm length, and Jess snorted loudly when she jumped at him and ended up falling on the floor.

A couple in their late forties watched them with smiles on their faces. "Remember those days, Clark?" The woman asked her husband. He smiled and nodded his head. Their conversation had caught the attention of the book junkies, and they stopped for a moment. "You are quite the adorable family." She complimented them.

Rory stuttered slightly, trying to explain that they were not a family. Jess was just a friend, who happened to be her daughter's father, and was just happening to take them on vacation. "Thank you," Jess interrupted his book tease. "It's like we're still in the honeymoon phase. Isn't that right, Honeybunch?" He had given her a nickname. Rory internally groaned.

"That's right, Poopyhead." She smirked playing along. He was surprised that she had actually gone along with it. But Rory Gilmore was full of surprises. And apparently so was Lilly Gilmore.

"But, Papa. You've got me!" Lilly jumped in. Literally and figuratively. She took that as the perfect opportunity to grab her book from his fingers. Rory snorted slightly at her daughter calling Jess 'Papa.' She longed for the day when she would call him 'Dad,' but papa was a lot funnier. Jess hugged Lilly close to him and smiled a super phony grin that no one else would have known if they didn't know Jess.

"That's right, Princess." It rolled off his tongue so easily, like honey. Rory liked hearing him call Lilly that. It gave her pause as she thought if they were really a family and this was just a dream. The older couple smiled a bit less easily now, they must have realized they were being mocked slightly. But they let it pass as the trio sat down again.

Rory liked the thought of them being a family. Lilly liked the thought of them being a family. Jess liked the thought of them being a family. It was just the road to getting there that was difficult.

 **XXX**

They're flight had taken off at nearly 10. Lilly had surprisingly crashed after eating a cookie and drinking a coke. She had called the window seat partially to look out at the sky, and partially to force her mom and Jess to sit next to each other. They didn't say much; they didn't have much to say. Well, he didn't have much to say.

"I read your manuscript." She told him. Her voice broke through the sound of snores like a lighthouse through fog. He sat up a bit straighter prepared for the worst because he had prepared the worst manuscript in history. "It was horrible." She gave him a wary look hoping to not hurt his feelings in anyway.

He chuckled and nodded his head. "I wasn't really feeling it." He tried to come up with an acceptable reason besides: 'I just made it crappy so that I could pay you for editing it to show my love for you and your daughter by helping pay your medical bills.' That was frowned upon in most circles.

"I had Lilly look at it, cause of the history. And she thought you were trying to go the _Back to the Future_ route. Or the _Doctor Who_ route because there were a lot of historical inaccuracies." She told him, and he chuckled. "And I didn't think you wrote historical fiction. Especially _romance_ historical fiction."

"Maybe I'm turning over a new leaf." He shrugged. Rory used all she had to not bust out laughing there. Jess Mariano did not turn over a new leaf. Especially when it came to his sense in writing. She decided to leave it at that since the flight attendant was indicating them to put on their seatbelts as they descended.

Rory reached over and strapped Lilly in. Her daughter was a deep sleeper, and once she was out, she was out. The flight landed, and everyone stood up besides the youngest Gilmore. Jess shooed Rory into the aisle holding their carryon bags. He once again picked up Lilly with ease, and carried her off the -plane. He probably looked a little weird carrying around a 16-year-old, and it was not doing anything good for his back.

They got through to baggage claim, and stepped out into the Philadelphia night air. Jess had called Matt and Chris, asking for a ride from the airport a few days before. He noticed them get out of the car and run towards him, Rory, and Lilly. "Where's the baby?" Matt asked hopeful. Jess sighed.

"There is no baby. What made you think there would be a baby?" He asked incredulously. Chris nodded toward Lilly confused.

"You said there was a kid. Kids usually mean babies." He explained the inner workings of his and Matt's brains. If his hands were free Jess would have ran a hand through his hair and then down his face. They may be smart enough to run a business, but their common sense and logic were greatly flawed. Before Jess could make a sarcastic comment on their stupidity, the guys noticed Rory standing to the right of him.

"You must be the famous Book Tease who every book is dedicated to." Chris said with a cheeky grin. Rory looked a bit flushed, and Jess couldn't tell if it was the exchange of warm to cool air or the sudden interest in her. Maybe it was just the strange lights outside the airport.

"Whatever. We can talk in the car. Lilly's getting heavy." Jess started towards the car. Rory swiftly followed him a bit apprehensive around the guys. The last time she had seen them she had fought with Jess when they had slept together, in that exact apartment they were headed for now. She really should have put more thought into coming here.

Rory wished that Lilly had been awake for the late night drive through the city, no matter how cranky she would have been. Ever since she was little, Lilly had a thing for watching out the window of the car while things passed in a blur. She especially liked watching the cities at night. Rory always knew it was the Jess in her peeking out with its creativity.

They arrived at Truncheon, and a flurry of emotions came rushing to the 39-year-old woman. She looked at the publishing house, thinking of the one and only time she had really been with Jess. The time that had changed her life forever and granted her the greatest gift through motherhood. Jess carried Lilly through the store, and grunted as he climbed the stairs.

"What have you been eating? Rocks?" He murmured while trying to make it up the stairs. He had done this what felt like a thousand times now. Carrying the sleeping teenager up and down stairs. Whether it be at the house, the hospital, or the airport. Jess didn't realize that Lilly had woken up just a tiny bit when they entered the publishing house, and had gladly responded to his question.

"Why? Your head missing some?" She asked quietly. Then as soon as she had woken up she was asleep again. Rory giggled recognizing the line from one of Lilly's favorite books. Matt and Chris threw each other knowing glances.

It took a few minutes to finally have everything in organized chaos, but it was at least organized. Lilly had been placed in Jess's old bed where she and Rory would sleep. Rory had insisted that she and Lilly not take his bed, but he wouldn't hear of it. He promised to sleep in one of the guys' old rooms instead of the couch, but he frankly didn't trust those beds.

Rory was walking out of the bathroom in her plaid pajamas that seemed like a white elephant present since they were so big. She bid the guys goodnight, and went to go be with her daughter. Jess watched her leave, and remembered the last time she had been in his bed. He shoved the thought away when Matt and Chris started talking to him

"Looks like you're a family man now." Matt pointed out while taking a sip of his beer. Jess shook his head and took a swig. His friends looked at him with pointed looks.

"I'm just helping out." He tried to reason. Neither one of the guys fell for it. They sat around for a few more minutes finishing off the beers and catching up on some stuff.

"See you tomorrow." Chris said as they were walking out. Jess nodded, and turned to head to one of the extra rooms. He had no idea how he was going to be able to sleep knowing she was just on the other side of the thin walls in his bed. Rory was the last thing he thought of before falling asleep. Oh, how he loved her.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Hey hey! Oh my gosh, wow what a week! Ok, so thank y'all who reviewed last week, and thank y'all who read my new story Mayday. If you haven't read that go check it out! Ok, so I love love love this chapter! It just I think really shows the relationship between Jess and Lilly. I hope you all love it as much as I do. Ok, so enjoy, and please review! They're what keep me going!**

 **AN 2: Ahh! Sorry guys! I didn't know it did that, and when I found out about it I couldn't fix it until now, sorry! Ok, just if you already tried to read the chap, I'm sorry and please come back and read it!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _You think I'm strong, you think I'm fearless  
Even when I'm, I'm at my weakest  
You always see the best in me when I can't  
I wanna be the girl you think I am_

 _-"The Girl You Think I Am" Carrie Underwood_

"I did not know you were that bad at mini golf." Lilly told Jess as they walked back into Truncheon after getting dinner. Rory was still giggling about how he had hit the clown head with his club because the ball kept ricocheting off of it. They had found some place that was doing pretty cheap mini golf throughout October, it seemed like a fun idea at the time.

"You just got lucky cause your great grandfather was really good at golf." He retorted taking a sip of the soda he still had leftover. Rory shook her head while taking her own sip of her milkshake.

"It's not hereditary." Lilly pointed back at him. He threw his hand up in a mock surrender, making her laugh in triumph. They had spent a majority of the day at Truncheon, except to go get lunch, and Lilly was finally letting out all of her pent up energy from sitting inside.

She had found a key board halfway through the week, and had been entertaining anyone who walked through the door. It had surprised Chris and Matt when they walked in and heard the Phantom of the Opera Overture. Jess didn't know that along with playing the guitar she had learned the piano, but apparently the entire town had chipped in to help get her into a music program that would teach her a lieu of things.

"It was a fun week. Thanks, Jess." Rory broke in. Jess smiled at her, and Lilly nodded extremely quick.

"Anytime. It's good that Miss History Know It All enjoyed herself at the museums." He grabbed at Lilly's ponytail. She giggled, and nodded again. Rory wanted to kiss him for his kindness, and the fact that he cared so much about her daughter.

As she watched them interact, she remembered how dumb she had been that week. Jess had invited her to go to the bar with him and the guys sometime during the week. She had complied hoping that walking back to the publishing house would give her the time alone she needed to break the news to him. She had chickened out the moment he looked at her. She wanted to scream in frustration at herself. The lie just wouldn't go away, and it was getting to her.

"One more day, Little Miss. What are we doing tomorrow?" Jess drew Rory's attention to her daughter who was mulling over what she wanted to do. She had done a bunch of research on the historical things around the city, which was so much considering how important Philly was to America's creation. It had thrilled Lilly to put her AP US history textbook with experience. Jess had called her a nerd.

"I want to tour Independence Hall." She said with finality. It surprised both Jess and Rory that they hadn't done that yet.

"You got it, kid." He stuck out his hand like he had just ended a business deal. Lilly giggled and grabbed his hand like she won the lottery. She was such a nerd, and she loved being one.

They headed up the stairs to grab things they would need since Jess had found someplace to take them to a drive-in movie. Lilly had only been to movie nights in the square not an actual drive-in, so Jess decided he would take the girls. They had been extremely grateful, and Lilly couldn't stop singing "Sandy" while thinking about it.

"Let's go!" Jess yelled from downstairs. He knew that he would be the first one ready, but a man can dream. Lilly came bounding down the stairs in a pair of sweatpants; she had switched out her contacts for her glasses. Rory came down the stairs looking nearly identical to her daughter.

Lilly smiled cheekily, and made her way out to the car as the two adults trailed behind. Jess fought the urge to wrap his arm around Rory when she shivered slightly. Rory fought the urge to force his arms around her body when she obviously shivered trying to get his attention. She felt like they had been growing closer, and she kind of felt ready to start up their relationship again.

Her daughter had noticed it too because throughout the entire week she kept getting "lost" (even though she knew exactly where she was in the history museums they had visited all week) forcing them to be together. Lilly would occasionally "fall asleep" when they were in the car, or lying on the couch after watching a movie. She heard the end of the conversations they had every night, and she liked what she heard.

"Ooo, _Casablanca_!" Lilly exclaimed from the backseat. Jess nodded, and continued to find the best spot to park. Almost as soon as the car had stopped, the Gilmore girls ran for the concession stand. They returned barely five minutes later with three large cokes and too much junk food for Jess's taste.

"You're gonna die from all the sugar you eat." He pointed as they jumped back into the car. Rory shrugged, and Lilly tried not to laugh.

"Don't be Grandpa!" She yelled as the movie was beginning. Jess cringed. He was not Luke. Rory giggled next to him. They felt like a family.

 **XXX**

It was probably an understatement to say that Lilly was annoyed. She had barely been back at school, and her mom had to go out of town on business. Of course Taylor wanted to send her to some stupid UFO convention in Hartford, and Rory would be given a hotel room where she had to stay or something. Lilly had been sent to stay with Cat for a few days, but she just really wanted to go home. She did love Cat and her family, but she and her mom hadn't been separated for this long ever.

The icing on the cake had been that Cissy Forester was being more of a bitch than usual. She and her cronies had decided that this week would be the week they made Lilly's life a living hell. She never let it get to her before, but she didn't have anyone to vent to whenever Cissy did something. Cat would obviously do fine under normal situations, but with Cissy having Mark under her spell Cat would completely freak every time she heard her name. It made Lilly's blood boil.

And Jess had been completely unreachable since he was working harder to get Truncheon II off the ground. He would occasionally pass by and wave or give her a quick hug, but he was always surrounded by paperwork and only half listening. She knew it was nothing personal, Jess loved the Gilmores, but it still felt weird and wrong that no one was paying attention to her.

Then before she could think about it, _everyone_ was paying attention to her. But they were the people she didn't want to be paying attention to her. Everything had gone from bad to worse in a matter of seconds.

She had been walking to the only class she had without any of her friends. Never a good thing for her. All of her friends were on the other side of the school, and she was trapped all alone with Cissy. She had put in her headphones, turned up the volume, and walked quickly to get away. Cissy had grabbed her bag, pulling her back, and making her drop a few things in the process. Those things being a manuscript and a book.

Leanne, the top crony, had reached for the stack of papers before Lilly could even realize what was happening. She handed it to Cissy who laughed loudly in Lilly's face. " _The Subsect_ by Jess Mariano. Isn't that the guy who your mom is paying to play house with? Playing 'Daddy' to the little bastard Gilmore? Should have realized your mom had to be paying someone to stay with you, white trash. And what's this?" She played at the pages of Lilly's manuscript. "A play by Lilly Gilmore… Wow, even in your writing you act like you have a family. Guess that's what happens when your mom messes your life up so bad you don't have a dad. I mean a father who doesn't even want their kid. That's rough." She snickered at the lost look in Lilly's eyes.

Tears were building their way up, and it didn't matter how much she tried to push them down. She looked up to see Mark standing behind Cissy. He didn't laugh at her like the other kids in the hallway, but the fact that he had been one of her best friends that was currently watching her with a blank look on his face like he didn't know her was killing her. She had never hated school until this moment. Cissy pushed her down to the ground as she kept reading the play out loud.

"'Why won't you talk to us? To me, to mom?'" She snickered at the words. Lilly tried to keep her tears from spilling over as the laughter increased. "'It's too hard, to see her act like she doesn't know me.'" Cissy tried in a different, lower voice. "You want a daddy that badly that you made one up? Pathetic." She threw the manuscript at Lilly's face. She kept the book in her hand, grabbing the front page.

"No, please!" Lilly begged, tears finally rolling down her face in big fat drops. Cissy smirked evilly at her, and gripped the page a bit tighter.

"'Dedicated to my book tease.' That must be your mom right? Since they are just two peas in a pod." Cissy started pulling at the page. Lilly lunged at the blonde girl, but was weakened by her emotions. Cissy stepped back effortlessly, and ripped the page out of the book completely. She continued ripping the pages out, and one by one they fell the floor right in front of Lilly. "You're not worth my time." Cissy growled as the last page hit the ground.

She turned on her heal, her cronies and Mark quick to follow. She saw the sympathetic look in Mark's eyes, and turned her head. She didn't need or want his sympathy. She felt someone grabbing at her arms, and she nearly yelled at them until she saw Xavier, a nice kid who sat behind her in choir, was the one pulling at her. "Come on, I'll help you to the principal's office." She nodded as he grabbed the torn pages, trying to put them back together. He loved books as much as she did, so she knew he would be careful.

He carried her bag for her, and didn't say anything as she sniffled and sobbed next to him. He placed her things on a chair where the secretary was, and waved goodbye as she walked into the principal's office. She tried to smile as she waved back, but it ended up as another sob. The principal, Mrs. Trainor, asked her if she needed to call anyone. Lilly almost shook her head before deciding she should maybe talk to someone.

Mrs. Trainor pointed to the phone, and tried not to eavesdrop while Lilly cried into the receiver. "Jess?" A sob caught in her throat again when he actually picked up.

"Lilly? What's wrong?" He asked with evident worry in his voice. She cried in relief to hear someone worried about her.

"C-can you pick me up from school?" She looked to the principal, who nodded, as she swiped a finger over her runny nose. She gasped slightly when she found blood from where her thick manuscript had hit her face.

"Yeah, I-I'll be there in a second." He sounded panicked. Lilly nodded and hung up, as she took a seat across from Mrs. Trainor. She tried to get a few words out, but they only came through as unintelligible sobs. The tissues had been passed her way, and she tried not to cry harder thinking about her messed up copy of Jess's book.

She heard him shout at the receptionist as he tried to find her whereabouts. Lilly jumped when the door slammed open, and Jess stood before her with his arms open. She ran to him, and buried her face in his chest. She had completely forgotten about her bloody nose, but she knew he wouldn't care. He stroked her hair like a father would when comforting his daughter. That thought made her cry even harder. He wasn't her father; it was just like Cissy had said.

"What's wrong?" He asked again. Lilly shook her head, and tried to keep from ruining his shirt. "You're as stubborn as your mother. Lilly, I need you to tell me what's wrong." He said a bit more sternly, but soft enough that he didn't scare her.

"Cissy F-Forester." She mumbled. If he hadn't been hugging her, he would have hit something. His hands turned to fists, and his facial expressions changed to a dark glare. Mrs. Trainor watched them, and she almost mentioned what class Cissy was currently in. No one liked that girl, not even the teachers.

"You can take her home, Mr. Mariano." The other adult in the room broke the quiet. Jess nodded, and lead Lilly out to his car. He could have walked, but he thought she had been hurt and would need a hospital. Lilly rushed at her bag that was sitting on a chair, and he helped her pick up her things. He noticed the blood trickling down from her nose, and the way that her breath hitched when she looked at different shreds of paper.

Jess stepped closer to look at the things she clutched in her hand. He noticed it was his book, torn to shreds with some of Lilly's dried blood on the pages. It made him even more angry than when he had heard who had hurt his daughter. He nearly jumped when he realized what he had thought. No, Lilly was not his. She was Rory's and some guy from Yale. She would never be his daughter. He had to stop thinking like that.

"We'll get your stuff from Cat's. Do you want to stay with me?" He asked once they reached the car. Lilly's normally bright, blue eyes were void of their usual happiness as she nodded her head slowly. He put the car into gear, and for once followed the speed limit assigned to the rinky dink town. He watched as she lay her head on the window, holding back another sob. He had never seen Cissy get to her like this.

He pulled up to Cat's house, and followed Lilly to the door. She walked right in, surprising Mrs. Albright with her blood smeared face and swollen eyes. She trudged up to Cat's room while Mrs. Albright continued to look at Jess warily. "She had a rough day. I thought it might be best if she stayed with me at the diner. Someplace she's used to." He tried to explain without sounding rude. Cat's mom nodded her head.

"Thank you, Mrs. Albright." Lilly said after hugging the woman slightly without getting blood on her. The blonde woman was polite enough, and replied while waving her hand. Lilly nearly ran back to the car. Jess followed a bit more slowly, mapping out his next move on how he could kill Dean Forester and not get caught.

Lilly had her head resting against the window when he finally reached the car. She didn't look at him when he changed the radio station to country, her guilty pleasure, and she didn't look at him when he drove right passed Luke's. She didn't do anything until she realized they were sitting in front of Forester Building Co., the business that Cissy's father ran. Lilly sat up immediately and looked at Jess with a worried glance.

"Give me a minute. It's gonna be fine." He said before getting out of the car, and walking with determination into the building. He glared at the receptionist, and he turned to look at the list indicating where office spaces were. He bypassed talking to the woman as he made his way to the elevator. Of course, Mr. High and Mighty would have his office on the top floor.

He stepped out, and noticed another receptionist who looked at him a bit more worried than the one downstairs. "Sir…" She tried to grab his attention as he walked towards Dean's office. It didn't work and he continued to walk like he was ready to kill. He was, but he would have to hold himself back.

The look of surprise on Dean's face was enough to satisfy Jess for a few years, but he wasn't there to just annoy the guy. He wanted to cause as much pain as his daughter had. "Jess!" Dean shouted a bit angry that the former hoodlum walked straight into his office without warning. "What are you doing here?" He was still sitting at his desk which somehow angered Jess even more.

"Your daughter hurt Lilly." He grabbed at Dean's fancy shirt. "She humiliated her, ripped up the book I wrote and threw it back at her face, she gave Lilly a bloody nose, and she ruined one of her oldest friendships." He dragged the taller man around from the table. "The fact that you raised your daughter to treat people like that. That you let her treat Rory's daughter like that. You don't deserve the mercy I am giving you." Jess drew back his arm as he prepared to punch Dean's annoyingly perfect face.

He threw the punch, and almost continued when a new voice broke into his rage. "Jess! Don't!" Lilly had somehow gotten into the office, and ran to him trying to hold him from punching her enemy's father harder. "He's not worth it!" She screamed when he raised his other arm (he hadn't cared that it didn't punch as well, he wanted to kill Dean Forester). He dropped his fists, and let go of the taller man's shirt.

"She's right." He spat on Dean's shoes. "You're not worth it." Lilly wrapped her arms around him, hoping to keep him from hurting the CEO even more. She did have to admit that she liked the fact that Jess cared so much about her mother and herself that he would willingly fight the worst person in town for them.

They returned to his car, and he was glad to see that Lilly had finished crying. She had probably stopped when she was a few minutes behind him at the building corporation. Her nose had stopped bleeding too, but was now crusty with dried blood. Her eyes were still a bit red and puffy, but they were no longer letting tears fall. "That was stupid." She told him. Jess smiled, he was known for stupid. "But thank you. For standing up for me." He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Anytime, Kid." They drove back to the diner in silence. Both wore content smiles on their faces.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! I just wanted to let y'all know that I fixed the problem, so you can go back and read chapter 11, and it'll work! Just thought I should put that on a separate chapter so that it'll show up in you're notifications that I did indeed update the story, and it is readable! ok, just thought I'd let you know, and I will be deleting this AN after like a day or too, or and then I'll be posting chapter 12 in it's spot so idk if you'll get the notification, so be on the look out in six days for chapter 12!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: So I was too lazy to delete that AN, so I kept it there. Anyway, here is another chapter, the legitimate chapter twelve. Also, if y'all haven't already go and check out my other story Mayday. So, happy reading and please review!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _Well this time I done some thinking  
And I think I'm done with you  
Cause until I get to leaving  
It's just the same old me too_

 _-"The Same Old You" Miranda Lambert_

Lilly had been extremely thankful that Cissy had decided to attack her on a Friday. She wouldn't have to see that bitch for the next two days, and her mother would be coming home on Sunday. It felt good to sleep in her old bed, and the fact that Jess was nearby when she needed him. He was like the father she never had (one of the points that Cissy had made), and he was happy to be like her father. She hadn't talked to her mom about the day before, but she knew that Jess had probably informed her on the events that transpired.

"Morning." Jess said when Lilly finally awoke. She nodded and grabbed a cup of coffee. "I got Luke to give you the day off. I thought you could come help me in Hartford, maybe we could get lunch with your mom." She nodded again. Until the coffee kicked in, she would be unable to form full, intelligible sentences. "Never thought I wouldn't hear an opinion from a Gilmore." He joked. She nodded again, most of the things he said were going in one ear and out the other.

Five minutes later, after the coffee had kicked in, she finally spoke. "Sounds good to me." Jess chuckled at how delayed her comment had been. Lilly smiled into her cup of coffee; she had realized how late she had spoken. They sat there for a few minutes, laughing before finally getting ready for the day.

Lilly had been ready before Jess, and she liked to throw it in his face. She knew that he had taken his sweet time primping before seeing her mother. She thought it was funny how she had walked in to brush her teeth, and he had been looking intently in the mirror as he gelled his hair. Lilly spent a good twenty minutes reading her book while she waited for him to be finish. "We could be there by now." She laughed as they walked to his car.

He waved his arm while she giggled at him. He would never admit that he was trying to look good for Rory, but they both knew it. The car ride was spent in a comfortable silence. Lilly read while Jess bobbed his head along to the radio. They pulled up to the building that Jess and Matt and Chris had chosen for the new Truncheon store, and Lilly had to keep her eyes from falling from her head.

She didn't realize that the new store would be some old Victorian building with large windows and at least three stories. Jess smiled as Lilly took in the building. "I thought you would like it." He led her to the front door. She had a bit more spring in her step, and her mouth dropped to the floor when she saw the inside.

"Are these original?" Lilly pointed to the book shelves. They had incredible hand carved designs, and the floor to ceiling ladder made her feel like she was in _Beauty and the Beast_. Jess nodded, and headed up the stairs to where the office would be. On the third floor there would be more bookshelves and a small recording studio. "Oh my gosh!" She gushed.

"Stay down there, map out where you think we should put each genre." He yelled down the stairs. Lilly nodded even though she knew Jess couldn't see her. She walked around getting a feel for the place before doing what had been asked of her.

That was how Jess found her an hour later. Her brown hair had been pulled up into a pony tail, and she was weaving between the bookshelves holding a stack of sticky notes. Her eyebrows were knit together as she looked at the writing she had on one sticky note while deciding where to put it. "You ready for lunch?" Jess pulled her from her concentration. Her head moved extremely quick to the thought of food.

They stopped at some fast food place (Lilly nearly ordered it all, but Jess stopped her before they could feed a small army), and drove the hotel that Rory was staying at. She didn't know they were coming, and Lilly was excited to surprise her mom. They carried the bags into some hoity toity hotel, and Jess gave the people death glares when they looked at them funny. Lilly tried really hard to keep from giggling.

"Rory Gilmore's room please!" Lilly chirped to the manager. He rolled his eyes as he took in their appearances. Since both Jess and Lilly had planned to work on Truncheon, they hadn't dressed up in normal day-to-day clothes, but in their more comfortable work clothes. "Look, man. I'm her daughter and I haven't seen her all week. I miss my mommy!" She tried to gain some sympathy. She didn't get it.

As soon as the words had left her lips, Rory came walking out of the elevator. "Lilly?" She yelled. Lilly smiled brightly and ran for her mother. "Jess?" Rory asked when she had finally let go of her daughter's embrace. He held up the fast food bags and smiled at her.

"We bring food." He smirked. Rory smiled and hugged him as well before grabbing at the food. "Woah, did I just see Kirk?" He stopped before they continued up to her room.

"Yeah, apparently he was abducted as a child. Explains so much." She giggled still holding onto her daughter. Lilly held back a laugh, and Jess whipped out his phone to take a picture of the town odd ball with tin foil on his head. "I think that's why Taylor wanted me covering this." She unlocked the door to her room.

The room was rather large, and had a king size bed that Lilly immediately jumped onto. Housekeeping had obviously come already, and the teenager dove for the pillow mints that were sitting there innocently. Rory grabbed at the one on the other pillow, but was stopped by Jess scooping it up. She pouted jokingly at them both. "Mom, you get these things every day!" Lilly said, her voice a bit muddled from having the mint resting against the roof of her mouth.

The mother nodded and plopped down right next to her daughter. "Aren't you supposed to be staying with Cat?" She asked in a serious, yet mock filled tone. Lilly froze, unsure of what to tell her mother. Apparently, Jess hadn't called about yesterday's events like she thought he would, and she did not want to let her mother know of all the bad things Cissy had called her.

"I, uh, me and Cat are still fine. No fight or anything… I just, I just…" She didn't know how to continue. Rory looked to her daughter with worry in her eyes. Her eyes flicked to Jess who looked like he was silently rooting for her daughter to get it out, to speak to her. She thanked him silently for that.

"She was, uh, feeling homesick. And I thought that it would be best if she stayed with me at the diner. That way she would be someplace she knew well. It all worked out…" Jess intervened. Rory could tell the was more to the story, but let it slide when she saw the way her daughter's blue eyes filled with gratitude. She popped a fry into her mouth and nodded.

"Good to know for if I ever go away for business again. Which I'm not! I'm never letting my baby out of my sight again. But that further enforces my plans to never let you go to college. You will stay with Mama and go to community college. We will be together forever!" She lightened the mood with a mouthful of fast food. Lilly cheered, and Jess rolled his eyes.

A couple ice cream tubs and few movies later, Jess and Lilly had to start heading back to Stars Hollow. Lilly was thankful that she had gotten to see her mom that day, and was glad to think about how she was going to be coming home the next day. Never again was she going away for a week neither of them would allow it.

Lilly was nearly to the car when Rory stopped Jess. "What happened?" She asked. Her eyes searched his face, and didn't come up with much. He looked towards his car where Lilly sat waiting for him to unlock it.

"I don't really know all the details, but she called me from school crying. And when I got there she had a bloody nose, and only said Cissy. She hasn't told me the details, but if she does before you get back, I'll call you." Rory nodded, not satisfied with the answer, but she could tell Jess didn't like not knowing the details either. He turned to leave, and she stopped him once more.

"Thanks for taking care of her." She motioned to Lilly who was tapping her toe impatiently. He nodded, a solemn look on his face as he looked at the teenager. He nearly turned when she did something even more unexpected. Rory grabbed him tightly, and kissed his cheek before he could get to his car. She looked at him sheepishly, worried how he would react to the supposedly friendly gesture. He smirked, kissed her hair, and turned to his car.

Lilly had seen the whole thing, and waited until her mom was no longer visible before turning to Jess. "You should have kissed her." She smirked. Jess rolled his eyes, and mussed up her hair some. "Come on. It's so obvious. Why don't you ask her out?" She questioned him more. He huffed in the driver's seat.

"Aren't you supposed to give that whole speech about why I need to stay away from your mother, and how if I hurt her you will personally murder me. And then do that thing where you turn on your heel and shout 'You're not my real dad!' after everything I say?" He joked. Lilly exhaled deeply, trying to suppress her chuckle.

"Whatever." She was getting nowhere with those two. Stubborn. "And I already gave you the don't hurt my mom speech."

 **XXX**

Lilly groaned as she walked into work on Monday morning. She and Rory had had a long night of talking, watching TV, and eating junk food. She had loved every minute of it (mother/daughter time was not a joke in any Gilmore house), but she was starting to understand what it felt like to wake up from a coma. They called the next mornings "sugar hangovers." Not as strong as the real thing, but still painful. Luke tried to hold in his smile when Lilly acted like a zombie.

"Long night?" He joked while starting a pot of coffee. It had barely finished when Lilly grabbed it, and started pouring herself a cup. It was quiet for a few minutes as the youngest Gilmore girl finished her cup of coffee, and her grandfather finished writing the specials.

The silence continued when Caesar finished making some bacon and handed it to Lilly. She took it gratefully, and chomped while Luke rolled his eyes. "Meat will kill you." He told his granddaughter who only smiled in response.

"Grandpa, don't you sound kind of hypocritical? I mean you run a diner that specializes in burgers. If you keep telling that to people, you'll lose business." She finished the last bit of bacon, whipped off the crumbs that fell, and grabbed her apron to begin her day. Luke threw his arms up, he still didn't understand Gilmores, and he was related to them all.

They took turns taking orders when new customers came walking in. Lilly caught on video the way the Luke yelled at Kirk when he tried to serve himself like Jess had moments earlier. "He lives here, and occasionally works here. That's why he can serve himself." Then Kirk was hit by a donut. She and Jess were cracking up at the counter.

The morning had been running smoothly, so smoothly that Lilly knew something big was going to happen. When that big thing did happen, she wanted to scream at the universe. Stupid universe, stupid small towns, stupid mom's exes. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Jess had been hunched over his work, Lilly had dropped a few sticky notes onto his nearly unreadable handwriting. She heard the ding from the door, but her back was turned as she faced the coffee machine. She didn't see who had entered, and Luke had been in the store room grabbing extra bacon.

"Get out." Lilly's growl broke the calm that had washed over the diner. Jess turned around on his chair to see what had changed the mood of the teenager. It took all of his might to keep from attacking the man that had walked in.

"I just thought I should come visit Stars Hollow where my wife and stepdaughter live." Even his voice was annoying. His entire being made Lilly angry, and Jess didn't plan on holding her back if she did try to fight him.

"Logan, you need to leave." Luke stepped from the store room. Logan threw his arms up confusedly. Then his eyes landed on Jess sitting at the counter. Jess looked ready to kill, even more so than when he had assaulted Dean at his office (the charges had been dropped when the CEO returned home to a call from the principal, and his wife yelling at their daughter who had been grounded nearly for life).

Jess stood up, shielding Lilly in the process. "Oh, hot shot writer stepping in on my family. That's funny." Logan laughed in his face. Lilly tried to jump from around Jess, but he held her back. Eventually, she gave up and waited for her mother's ex to leave. He didn't.

Instead he stood there, egging Jess on and annoying Lilly beyond reason. "Look douche bag, my mom dumped your sorry ass the third time you cheated on her. After _I_ found you cheating on her. I'm scarred for life thanks. So, get out." Lilly finally did break free from Jess's grasp and faced the man who had almost been her stepfather. The fact that her mother had gone back to him when she was born made her a bit angry.

"Logan, get out." Rory's voice was heard over the murmuring of the crowd that had gathered in Luke's. Logan turned from the two at the counter and looked at Rory smiling a large, fake smile. "Oh my gosh! You're drunk. You decided to confront my daughter drunk, and you almost fought Jess again. Get out." She pushed passed the man who was far too drunk for 7:45 in the morning.

"I've got school." Lilly said while placing down her apron and notepad down. She walked out of the diner, and on her way out pushed Logan into the wall nearest the door. Rory didn't even move to help him up like she normally would have.

She sat down next to Jess at the counter, smiling at him strangely. "You know any good lawyers? 'Cause I need a restraining order." She then grabbed his coffee and proceeded to drink it without his consent. He couldn't tell her how hot that looked as he just nodded dumbly. She wanted to kiss the dumb look off his face.

Luke groaned when a few people stood up to leave. His customers were starting to feel the sexual tension between those two. He had heard Lilly and her friends mention some "Operation Literati" which he knew was about his nephew and stepdaughter. Watching a few more people leave rather quickly, he thought about how he needed to get in on that. Fast, he thought as one more customer left.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Hey hey! Oh my gosh, this chapter guys, this chapter. Finally getting some stuff going on! And, oh my gosh the revival is so close, so that means new Lit scenes, I'm just so excited! Ok, so happy reading, and please review. I didn't get that many reviews last week, so I was hoping we could change that! Well, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _Tell me how, how'd you get so far away?  
All we have left are the memories of the love we made  
Are you sleeping with your own regret?  
On your side of the bed_

 _-"Your Side Of The Bed" Little Big Town_

"I'm gonna do it," He muttered under his breath when walking from his spot on the bridge to the diner. "I'm gonna ask her out." He had decided that earlier that week when she had completely rejected the blond dick, that he could no longer let those pent-up feelings stay inside. He had to ask her out. He had to make a move, and he hoped she would say yes.

The funny thing had been when Lilly walked into the apartment twenty minutes later, and saw him practicing asking Rory out in the mirror. She had busted into laughter, surprising Jess. "Lil," He said incredibly flustered. She laughed uncontrollably, and no matter what he said could make her stop. "I'm gonna do it." He told the shaking teenager. The laughing stopped when he said that.

"Took ya long enough!" She exclaimed and hugged him. "Whatever you do, Mom will love it." She then rattled off some of her mother's favorite activities which hadn't changed in nearly 21 years. "Just make sure you don't plan anything for the 11th. That's my birthday." Then she headed back down to the diner to hang out with her friends and work.

Jess spent the next few hours brainstorming something he could do with Rory on the 5th. He had nearly jumped from his skin when Rory entered the apartment, holding some dinner. He hadn't realized it was nearly seven. "What'cha workin' on?" She asked when she saw the crazy amount of computer tabs, and the way that he had random things written on scraps of paper.

"I, uh, I…" He stuttered. How did she have this effect on him? Jess Mariano did not stutter. She looked at him with her big, blue eyes, and he tried not to melt right there. "I, um… I was wondering if you might want to go out with me, on Saturday the 5th?" There, he had asked. Her eyebrows crinkled, and he was ready for her to say no right there.

"Saturday the 5th should work just fine for me. What were you thinking?" She seemed so at ease answering his question, but on the inside she was freaking out. He looked at her dumbfounded for a moment before clearing his throat and processing what she had said.

"I thought maybe dinner, and then I can show you Truncheon II. I can pick you up around seven?" He hoped that worked for her. He so hoped that it worked out in general. He missed being with her. Her facial expression let him know she was thinking it out, and then she smiled at him real big.

"That's perfect," She knew her smile was uncontrollably large, and she didn't care. He was grinning just as bright back at her. She felt like she did as a teenager when they had first started dating, all awkward and smiles and hellos. "I'll see you on Saturday, Dodger." And she kissed his cheek, it was the least she could do. She heard him exhale as she shut the door behind herself.

Lilly watched her with questioning eyes. "You can have someone over on Saturday. I've got a date." Rory told her daughter. The teenager squealed and hugged her mother tightly. They were finally going on a date.

Lilly turned to Cat and Doula, who had heard the entire thing. They high fived, and Doula pulled out five bucks and placed it in Cat's hand. Rory pretended to act like she didn't notice. Instead she was planning her outfit, she was going to knock Jess's socks off.

 **XXX**

"Oh yeah, that one." Doula exclaimed. She and Cat were currently over at the Gilmore house helping Rory choose her outfit for her date with Jess. "I know my brother, he's gonna like that." The two other girls nodded fervently at Rory's sleek dark blue dress.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't come home tonight." Lilly said while handing her mom the black shoes that matched dress well. Rory scoffed and slapped her daughter's head. "Hey this date has been like two months in the making, and those two months were much too full of sexual tension. I swear whenever you two are in a room I could grab a knife and go crazy."

Rory took in her appearance. Her dress brought out her eyes, and the makeup she had chosen did make her feel younger. She had gone with flats since Jess wasn't _that_ much taller than her, and if her heals were too high that would be awkward. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit weird and worried. She felt like she was lying to him almost, and even though she was extremely excited she also just felt off about it.

She was excited, but the feeling in her stomach just had to be more than butterflies. The back of her mind kept screaming how wrong it was, how she shouldn't be doing this. But her heart was controlling her, and even though her heart said yes the nagging didn't go away. It heightened when she heard him knocking on the front door.

Before Rory could say a word, Lilly and her friends jumped up and rushed to the door. She heard the muffled talk, and the obvious excitement in Jess's voice. It made her feel like a kid again. She waited for Lilly to shout for her before descending the stairs. Her smile widened when she saw he was speechless. His mouth nearly on the floor, and his eyes as wide as saucers. Rory never thought she would have that effect on a man again.

The butterflies in her stomach continued to flutter about, making her clench her jaw to keep her nausea at bay. "I, uh… Sorry, that's not a sentence." Jess mumbled trying to break the silence. Rory finally felt like she could unclench her jaw a bit when she saw how nervous he was.

"I get the gist." She told him, reminding each other of the one time out on her grandmother's drive way. They stood in the entry way a bit awkwardly; the girls snickering at their behavior. "Uh, we should go right? Girls, no keggers while I'm gone. You know how I like being there when the cops show up." Then she led the way from the house. He followed like a lovesick puppy (which he was).

"So, I was thinking that since everyone goes to an Italian restaurant, we could go to like a Japanese place. There's supposedly this really good one near where Truncheon is going to be." His voice sounded worried, something that Rory had never associated with Jess. She nodded awkwardly, and let the car fall into an apprehensive silence. Neither spoke, yet they both yearned to.

"I, um. Sorry, I feel kind of weird." She finally broke the thick tension. He kept his eyes on the road, and nodded along. There was something about her.

"Well, you're not alone." He tried to comfort her. It didn't seem to be working. "I feel like I'm seventeen again." Jess shook his head as he mumbled. Rory smiled at him, this one less forced.

"Great movie. Zac Efron.. Hmm." She tried to get a rise out of him. See if the jealous Jess she had seen when she had dated Dean was still kind of there. He grumbled at the way she mentioned the actor, and she knew she had him.

"Aren't you supposed to not mention other guys on a first date." The brown eyed man told her as they pulled up to the upscale Japanese Steakhouse he had found. She giggled, making her curls bounce in a way that shouldn't have been legal. Before she could say anything, the valet knocked on the window.

They got out (Jess had been the utmost gentleman when he opened Rory's door for her), and she held in her laughter when the guy drove off with the car. It eventually bubbled up, and he stared at her quizzically before laughing himself. "Sorry, I just-just whenever I think about valets, it reminds me of the episode of _the Office_ when Dwight had a garden party. And then Mose had taken all the cars, and lined them up so he could jump them." She barely finished the sentence before she continued laughing.

They were still laughing when they walked inside. They laughed a bit harder when they gained odd looks from the people waiting to be seated. "Uh, reservation for Mariano." Jess tried to keep a straight face, but looking at Rory's horrible attempt to cover her laughter didn't help his case. The hostess nodded, her eyes narrowed at their childlike behavior.

They were taken to a room in the back where it would be just the two of them at the table. "Fancy shmancy. I didn't know they did this." Rory said looking around as she took her seat. Jess sat down next to her, and watched her eyes dart around the room.

"Apparently, it's just this place. I've never heard of Benihana places doing this." He took a sip of the water that had been preplaced before their arrival. She nodded, pushed a curl away from her face and took a sip as well.

Jess almost spit out his water when he saw the way Rory's face pinched at the taste. "It's called cucumber water." He explained to her repulsed movement to place it back. "Don't worry, I'll order you a wine." He took another sip. Too many fancy meetings with writers had given him the acquired taste.

"The thing I hated about the DAR the most was the cucumber water." She said, hoping that someone would come and take her drink order. She didn't have to hope because Jess headed over to a rack holding wine. He held up two bottles, white and red. "White, I was thinking of getting chicken." She smiled when he poured her a glass.

Their cook walked in as Jess was pouring himself a glass, and he rolled his eyes at the impatient couple. Rory quickly placed her glass down feeling guilty. "You wouldn't believe how many people are too eager to get their hands on a bottle on date night. Most of them who drink before I get here have three kids. How many do you have?" The guy tried to make small talk. Rory nearly choked.

"She's got one. Almost seventeen." Jess said for her. The chef nodded, he felt kind of bad for the mistake.

"No, you can't possibly have a seventeen-year-old. You look much too young. If they know what's good for them they'll look like you." He tried some harmless flirty. Jess smiled at Rory, and noticed her blush.

"Yeah, great kid. Looks just like my Honeybunch here. Incredibly smart, good group of friends, good head on her shoulders." As he rambled, Rory wished her hair covered her blushing face. She did have to send a glare his way when he called her Honeybunch. The cook looked impressed.

"You gloat like she's your kid." The guy told Jess. _That's because she is_ , Rory thought. Now would not be a good time to blurt that out. Before anything else could be said to make the conversation even more awkward, he took their orders. The blue eyed woman let out a soft sigh of relief that thankfully couldn't be heard over the hissing of oil.

They oo-ed and ah-ed when the onion volcano erupted, and they laughed when the chef made jokes with the food. Rory couldn't tell if it was the heat from the fire or her blush when he wrote 'I love you' in chicken. Jess cheered when she successfully caught a piece of shrimp in her mouth. She laughed when it got thrown into his perfectly gelled hair.

Eventually, there dinner show did come to an end, and they thanked their cook after giving him a decent tip. "How did you find this place?" She asked once they had gotten his car back (sans feet marks). He looked at her sheepishly, and she knew that he would probably be losing his hipster/punk card when he told her.

"Do you Yelp?" He answered her question with a question. She shoved his shoulder playfully.

"You used an app? Like a well-known mainstream app? So not you." She said as he pulled up to the Truncheon II building. Her mouth dropped exactly like Lilly's had, and he smirked at how quickly he could change the subject without saying anything. "This place is gorgeous." She gushed completely forgetting the Yelp thing.

"Lilly thought so. I put her to work when we came to visit you last week." He practically pushed her towards the large wooden doors. He watched as her expression became even more shocked stepping inside. She could understand why her daughter loved this place. Rory smiled when she looked at a sticky note with Lilly's scrawl on it. "Yeah, she planned where I should put which genres."

She hummed while her blue eyes scanned every inch of the first floor. Jess pointed up the stairs, and she followed still in awe of the architectural details. She could tell the main point of the second floor would be for an office or two. She didn't let Jess take her anywhere else, mainly because she was tired and didn't want to move anymore.

He watched as she kicked off her shoes, and brought her legs to be resting underneath her body. He sat down on the couch with her, waiting for either of them to say anything. "I had a great time." She admitted softly. Her smile was sly, and her eyes had a glint in them that drove him crazy.

"We should do this more often." He replied. She nodded, not knowing what to say next. That meant there would be more dates. More dates meant relationships. Their current relationship was built on lies. She realized now why she felt odd before they left. She wanted to start a relationship with him, but she had started it with a lie.

"I-I… I don't know, if-if I can do this." Rory said, catching Jess completely off guard. He looked at her like she was crazy. She had just said they had a good time, she had just agreed to going out again. What did she mean she couldn't do this? He tried to catch her eyes, but she kept moving her head to avoid eye contact.

"What do you mean? You said you were ready. I'm ready. I'm ready for this. You can count on me now. I know you didn't think you could count on me before, but you can now. You can! You know we're supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you 21 years ago, and the last time I saw you 17 years ago, and you know it too." He finished his speech nearly identical to the one he had given at Yale. She shook her head, tears blurring her vision. "Don't say you don't want to be with me again!" He yelled as he stood up.

"I do want to be with you! It's just too complicated! I don't know how to tell you; I can't tell you because you'll hate me! I can't deal with you hating me! I'd rather stay the way things are without you hating me, and the only way to do that is to not be in a relationship with you! I can't do this." And then Rory Gilmore walked out of Truncheon. When she left, she took another piece of Jess's heart.

He didn't know why he kept trying.

 **XXX**

Lilly and her friends were giggling thinking about what would be happening on the date between Rory and Jess. They never got into gory details, but they thought about the cutesy things they would read to each other and the way that her mom would probably fall asleep on Jess's shoulder. That was until Rory walked into the house crying her eyes out.

"Mama!" Lilly shot up, Doula and Cat following suit. "Mama, are you ok?" She noticed the extent of damaged makeup and knew she had to have been crying for the entire 30-minute drive home. "Why is there a cab in the drive way?" She asked. Lilly felt like she knew what was going on.

"I messed up so bad." Rory kept saying. She said it on repeat like a broken record. Cat and Doula came back into the room holding tubs of ice cream. Lilly thanked them, and pulled a blanket around her.

"What did my idiot brother do?" Doula asked her cousin. Rory only cried harder when questioned. "What'd I do?" The blonde teenager asked holding her hands up. Lilly slightly chuckled despite the situation, and Rory tried to calm the girl's fears as much as she could.

"It was me; it was all my fault. He was perfect, and I m-messed it up." She cried into the ice cream tub. Lilly had no clue why or how her mother could mess it all up, but she had to find out. She was tired of seeing her mother unhappy. She knew that Jess made her happy. Operation Literati was back on.

Across town, Jess pounded on Luke and Lorelai's door. He didn't care that Lorelai would probably be angry at him. He needed to talk to someone, and Luke was that someone. "Jess, what are you doing here?" His cousin, Will, asked. Jess was filled with relief that Lorelai didn't open the door first.

"I've gotta talk to Luke." He explained as the younger boy opened the door wider. He vaguely remembered Will calling for his father while Jess himself sat down at the kitchen table. Luke came rushing down, and into the kitchen so fast it made Jess jump.

"What happened?" He asked, knowing full well it had been his nephew's date with Rory. Jess looked up at him, his eyes filled with regret. Luke had never seen that in his eyes before.

"I don't even know. We were having a great time, and then we went to Truncheon… She just did a complete 180. She said she had a great time and she agreed to another date, and then suddenly she telling me she can't do this. She said something about me hating her, and I just… I tried to get her to stay. She took a cab home. I don't even know what I did." He sounded so hurt. He felt like he had messed up their relationship so many times before it obviously had to be his fault. Luke knew what was weighing so heavily on Rory. He had heard her telling Lorelai how she chickened out in Philly.

"I'm not that good at advice, but just give her time. I don't believe in soulmates, but if I did, you two would be the definition." He sounded so sappy.

"Or star crossed lovers whose timing is always shit." Jess scoffed in return. Luke shook his head.

"Give it time. She'll come to you eventually. She always does."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: AAAAAHHHHHHH! HOLY FREAKIN CRAP YOU GUYS! THREE DAYS! NEW LIT SCENES! I'M SO EXCITED! Ok, so my mini rant of the freaking out proportions is over now. Anyway, so from here it is this chapter, the next chapter, and then the epilogue! Oh my word, I can't believe this story is almost done! It has been an amazing journey with you all, and I hope you will continue to read Mayday, and look out for my one shots in Makin' Plans!**

 **And one more thing I wanted to address, sorry to sound like the bitchy writer again, but I only got four reviews on the last chapter! I thought you would all be up in arms about that date! So please I am begging you to please review on this chapter! Even if it's just how excited you are for the revival on Friday. I just really really want your reviews! Don't mean to sound selfish, but it's true.**

 **Ok, so long AN, sorry. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! At least to my fellow Americans, and this chap fell perfectly onto this week. So, happy reading and I cannot stress how much I want you to review! Love y'all stay safe this holiday weekend!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 _I said I'm moving on, 'cause things were getting rough  
But here I am in your bed  
I strung it on too long, afraid to be alone  
Now we're in over our heads_

-"Mayday" Cam

Lilly didn't know what to do anymore. She had watched her mother break down, and she had watched Jess stare at her mother longingly with pain in his eyes. It had been nearly three weeks since their failed date. Jess had been nice enough to show his face at her birthday party (he had claimed it was only for her, but she saw the way he watched Rory try to avoid him), but he had been avoiding all contact with Gilmores like the plague.

He was surprisingly coming to the family Thanksgiving at Luke's where even Emily would be joining them. She had grown lonely since Richard had died, and she often found herself in the quaint town that she used to be repulsed by. Luke had prepared more turkeys than ever before, and Lilly couldn't wait to try and get her mother and Jess alone.

Which was going to be difficult since Rory refused to get out of bed. Thanksgiving morning, the day that the Gilmores trained every day for, and she refused to leave the confines of her bed. "Mom, they're expecting us! And we're missing the Macy's Day Parade. Grandma might kill you when she finds out you skimped on the parade." She tried pulling the adult from her bed.

"Fine. But I'm doing this for Mom and Grandma and Luke. _No one_ else!" Lilly embraced the small victory when she watched her mother go to take her shower. She herself had already showered, and just needed to put on her clothes. So she waited around the house in her sweats while watching the parade.

"Oo, are you sure you're only doing this for Grandma, Great Grandma, and Grandpa? Cause it looks like your dressing up for—" Lilly was cut off when a pillow was thrown at her face. Rory glared at her when she removed the pillow, and she decided that she should drop it. Nothing like a grumpy Mom on Thanksgiving. "I'm going to get changed, and if I find you back in your bed, I will spread the pictures of you from the day I was born when you looked all sweaty and gross." She threatened. The message came loud and clear.

"Ok, let's go get this over with and then come home and eat pie." Rory stepped around the couch to get to her purse. Lilly followed behind, annoyed that her mom was acting this way just because Jess was going to be at dinner. Usually, Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday, but because of her failed date she no longer wanted anything to do with their family.

"Crap." Lilly said as they made their way to the diner. Rory looked at her quizzically. "Cramps." She explained and continued. Her mother nodded sympathetically, and slowly walked into the diner.

Inside, Jess was nowhere to be seen, and the brunette let out the breath she had been holding. She saw her grandmother who was talking up Will, trying to convince him to go to Chilton. Doula and Lilly immediately ran off together, Liz was talking to Lorelai and April most likely about jewelry. Luke looked like he was trying his hardest to not kill TJ. Rory realized now that she couldn't see Lilly and Doula in the mix of family members. She groaned realizing they must have gone upstairs to get Jess.

She turned quickly when he nearly fell on her as he was pushed down the stairs by her daughter and step-cousin. He mumbled something about broken necks, and Rory decided she should go find her mother. Lorelai gratefully kept her daughter company as she avoided the reformed hoodlum. There was a close call when Liz called him over, but Rory quickly excused herself to the restroom.

"Oh! Aunt April brought the cheese!" Lilly yelled when she saw the tub of Squire Mountain sitting out with the other appetizers. April had moved to Maine after she graduated, and whenever she came to visit she brought the cheese that was exclusively sold in the grocery stores there. For the rest of the evening, Lilly would be stuffing her face with _Carr_ crackers and cheese.

Soon a crowd rounded around the tub, and Rory hung back. Sadly, so had Jess. They looked at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before someone dragged Rory to the cheese. It had been Lilly, not realizing she had kept her mother from talking to the writer. Doula had hit her arm afterward, and the teenager knew she had thrown a small wrench in their plan.

"Thank you that we're not Native Americans who got their land stolen in exchange for smallpox-infested blankets." Luke said as the large family sat down to eat their turkey. He had been saying it every year now since the one Thanksgiving Rory and Jess had been a couple. It was bringing back memories that wanted to stay put.

"Ooh! Rolls!" Lilly said excitedly as she picked out what she wanted. She had stuffed her plate with everything besides the Brussel sprouts that Emily had forced Luke to make. She did get the green beans, but only to appease her great grandmother. Lorelai came up next to her when she had found the rolls, and she proceeded to throw them at her husband who had hid them from her.

Jess still tried to avoid them, but failed when Lilly and Doula sat down next to him. Rory didn't come near him at all, and dragged April to sit with her at an incredibly far away table. "What'd you get for the answer to number twenty-one in the math homework?" He vaguely listened to what his sister had said.

"Um, I think I got North Dakota." Lilly thought back to her homework she had worked on the day before.

"I got 36…" Doula thought out loud. Jess wasn't paying attention to their nonsense as he gazed at Rory. She smiled brightly at April, and he wanted her to smile at him like that. Good God, he had become such a sap since moving back to Stars Hollow. He watched her as she stood up to get another beer, and he hoped that she would walk towards him. He didn't care if it was just to talk to Lilly. He wanted to be near her.

"Yo, bro?" Doula snapped her fingers in front of Jess's face. He came back to reality and took a bite of turkey. His visit to la-la land did not go unnoticed by the rather inept teenagers sitting with him.

Two hours, too many rolls, and nearly five pounds of mashed potatoes later, everyone had left. Though Lilly and Rory had stayed a bit longer to help Luke clean up, and Jess had hightailed it upstairs as quickly as possible. If after three weeks of refusing to talk to him wasn't enough, he had decided that he would not say anything unless she approached him first.

The girls waved goodbye to Luke, but they didn't notice how Jess was also waving from the apartment above. Lilly stopped again and swore, catching her mother off guard. "I freakin' hate cramps." She angrily exclaimed. "And now my stomach hurts 'cause I ate my body weight in mashed potatoes. Worst week to have Thanksgiving." Rory nodded in agreement, and placed her arm around her daughter's shoulder in a comforting way.

When they reached their house, Rory flopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV. "Never eating again. I will just sit here and watch _Charlie Brown_ for the rest of my life." Lilly agreed with her as she went to go change into her pajamas.

"Hey, it's acceptable to play Christmas music now! And tomorrow we can put up our Christmas decorations." Lilly chirped while she watched Snoopy quickly put together a Thanksgiving feast. She laughed slightly ( _Charlie Brown_ never got old), and cringed again. "Too much food, and cramps don't go together." She hissed.

"Well, after this you can go to bed if you want. But after this, you cannot miss _Charlie Brown_." Rory playfully forced. Lilly looked at her mother like she was crazy that she would ever miss Charlie Brown. Rory pulled at Lilly so that they were snuggling close. "I'm also starting a fire, but you can decide what you want to do about that."

 **XXX**

Lilly woke around five when she felt another searing pain in her stomach. What she thought had been cramps and gas hadn't gotten better with the passing hours, but worse. She yelled in pain, and Rory came rushing into her room. "What's wrong, Baby?" She had already been up to prepare before covering the black Friday craze. She never expected Lilly to be up this early after Thanksgiving.

"My stomach-ch, it-it hurts." She whimpered. Rory soothingly shushed her as she laid her back in her pillow. She rushed downstairs, and grabbed a cup full of crushed ice. She returned to see Lilly hunched over; her hot tears didn't do much to help her slight fever. "Mama." She hissed out. Rory kissed her forehead, and ran back down the stairs to start the car before going to the hospital.

"No! Not again!" She screamed in frustration. Every time they needed to go to the hospital, the car would mysteriously break down. Lilly's screams could be heard from outside, and Rory held back her cry of fear. She didn't know what it was that was bothering her daughter since she had had her appendix out when she was much younger. "I'm coming, Baby!" She yelled as she pulled out her cell phone.

She didn't really care who she called, as long as they got them to the hospital. She hadn't even payed attention as her fingers dialed the number. "Hello?" The voice on the other end was filled with drowsiness, and Rory mentally cursed herself. She couldn't believe her subconscious had called him.

"Jess?" When he heard her voice on the line, he sat up completely awake. "It's Lilly. I-I don't know what's wrong, but she's screaming in pain and clutching her stomach. It's not her appendix 'cause she got that taken out a few years ago, and my car won't start. And-and…" She couldn't finish because she had finally succumbed to her fears.

"I'm coming. It's gonna be ok." He tried to reassure her; he knew it wasn't working. He hung up and ran his car past every stop sign, and went at least twenty over the speed limit. He had to help Lilly. He pulled up to see Rory on the front porch crying. He raced passed her and up the stairs to see a writhing Lilly. "It's gonna be ok, Princess. Come on. It's gonna be ok." He picked her up and carried her to the car.

Rory was already in the car, waiting for the two of them. Lilly cringed when she was placed on the hard seat, but relaxed slightly when she felt Rory's hand tracing her face. Once he was one hundred percent sure that the hurting teenager was as comfortable as could be, Jess floored it to the hospital. At five in the morning he didn't have much traffic, but he did almost run over Kirk taking Kirk Junior on an early morning stroll.

They were outside the ER, and Lilly tried to lift herself up to walk to the door. She toppled over in pain, and Jess picked her up again to get her inside. Rory once again got the paperwork, and watched Jess hold up Lilly's frame. "Ma'am, we'll need your husband's information as well." A nurse told her. She was a different nurse from when Lilly had a migraine.

She nearly refused again, but she didn't know at all what was wrong with Lilly. She needed to know, she needed to know if it was possibly hereditary from Jess's side. "Jess, I need you." Rory called to him. He carefully left Lilly's side and came to Rory's. "I need you to-to fill this out." She tried to remain calm, but she couldn't.

"Why? You need her parent's information. I'm not Lilly's parent." He said, making the nurse give Rory a look.

"Yes you are. You're her father! I need you to fill out the paperwork. I need to know what's wrong with her! I have to know if it's from your side or my side. I have to have answers. I need our daughter to be ok!" She exclaimed while she filled out her own paperwork. She felt like every time they came here the hospital somehow lost her paperwork. Jess looked at her with a confused look, and she pushed the paper into his face. "Fill it out!" Rory nearly screamed. She couldn't believe that she had just told Jess that Lilly was his daughter.

They finished filling it out at nearly the exact same time. Rory felt like she was shaking from adrenaline, and Jess couldn't stop bouncing his leg. Lilly was called back to be examined, and both of them followed. He was still reeling over the fact that Lilly was his daughter. He had a kid. A great kid. The adults sat incredibly close to the hospital bed that contained their daughter.

"May I speak with you?" The doctor came into the room. Rory nodded as she stood up to follow, and she allowed Jess to come with her. "So your daughter, basically in normal terms, her large intestine has broken away from the lining, and it has twisted itself up. We are going to need to operate immediately, or else the result could be fatal." Rory nodded quickly.

"Whatever needs to be done." Then before she knew what she was doing, she wrapped her arms tightly around Jess. She let a few more tears slip as he pulled her in closer. He should be mad at her, yelling, kicking, screaming for a custody battle, but instead he held her while their daughter was prepped for surgery.

The doctor walked out after talking to Lilly, and Jess looked down at Rory. "You should go talk to her." She pushed him. Jess nodded, and Rory took a seat outside the room to give them some alone time. He walked in to see a calmer teenager, and he had to blink back tears since he was after all Jess Mariano, and he did not cry.

"Hey, Kid." He greeted as he sat down next to Lilly's bed. She smiled at him tiredly. "I found out some pretty interesting stuff today." He watched as her facial expressions changed. She hummed in her tired way of telling him to continue. "I, uh, I'm your dad." He said.

Lilly smiled brightly despite the pain relievers in her system. "Good." She mumbled. Jess smiled down at her, and kissed her forehead. He kind of liked this parenting thing. At least with Lilly.

"I love you, Lill." He whispered.

"I love you too, Dad." It sounded right.

 **XXX**

The air in the waiting room could only be described as apprehensive. Neither one of them knew what to say. Rory wasn't sure if she wanted to justify her actions or not, and Jess wasn't sure if he was angry with her. They were walking on eggshells as they went about their business. He somehow had a book with him, and Rory felt odd when she walked passed him to get coffee. Their kid was in surgery, and they weren't on speaking terms.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He finally broke the silence. Rory snapped out of her thoughts, and took a long sip from her coffee. "Rory, why didn't you tell me?" He asked again. She looked around at everything in the room before turning her attention to him.

"I don't know." She whispered.

"That's not an answer." He told her somewhat sternly. He was starting to get annoyed; she had kept his daughter from him for seventeen years. "Why didn't you tell me when I came to town? Why did you lie to me?" His voice was getting stronger with each question, and she wished she could slip into the shadows.

"I thought it was best. We had had a fight, a horrible fight, and I had gone home to find out Logan had been in an accident. So, I just told him what I told you: how it had to have been from when I was broke up with him. He believed me, and everyone in town believed me. Then seventeen years went by, and I never saw you so I thought it was fine to just let the lie go on. And then you were there, and I panicked because it had been seventeen years, so I just kept lying.

"And then, you were just so great with her. But I was just too selfish and kept chickening out every opportunity I had. You were just there, being her father figure, and being nice to me. I just didn't want that to change. I didn't want you to hate me, and shun Lilly for my mistakes. I can't have you hate me when I love you." Her sleep deprived rambling kept coming until she ended with that. She had just told him she loved him after trying to justify why she kept his daughter from him for too many years.

They were both shocked into silence. She had just said something so monumental, and he couldn't reply because he was starting to get agitated with her. But he did love her, he never stopped. He was just too upset with her to voice it. "I know it was dumb, but I would rather have had you not be there all together than just floating in and out like my dad."

"I wouldn't have floated." He exasperated.

"I know that now, but back then you were always leaving. I couldn't deal with that, and I couldn't let Lilly deal with that." She was near tears from the fact that he hated her now, and that her daughter was in a major surgery. "I'm sorry, ok? I didn't know it would have this affect. I was just thinking selfishly. I was a selfish idiot who couldn't have her heart broken again. Lilly is the best thing that has ever happened to me; I couldn't watch her possibly get hurt if you didn't show like you said you would. I couldn't watch myself turn into my mom, pining after the father of my child for far too long. It was best for all of us."

Jess shook his head. He could see where she was coming from, but at the same time it seemed like she was speaking gibberish. "Look, I love Lilly, and I love you," She could feel a 'but' coming. "But I need time to adjust, and to think about what you said, and rethink the past three months." Rory nodded, and she bit back a sob because she might have lost him forever. She had ruined everything again.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore," The doctor called into the waiting room completely oblivious to the mistake he had made. "Your daughter is in recovery. We had to take out a foot of her intestines, and reattach what was left to the lining of her abdomen. This should never occur again, but we will have to meet with you every few weeks after she is released to track her progress. Lilly is going to need about eight weeks off of school, and she cannot lift anything heavy for the next four weeks. She will need to be kept on a specific diet until she recovers fully, but I'll just print out a copy for you."

"Can we see her?" Rory almost interrupted him, but she knew that whatever the doctor said would be important. He nodded, and the two adults were practically sprinting to Lilly's room. She looked so peaceful while she slept. No longer was she writhing in pain, but she was sleeping more still than she had ever done before.

They sat there for a bit longer before Lilly finally woke up. She looked around groggily, and was ambushed as soon as her head was raised off the pillow. She knew that it was Rory kissing her entire face, and running her fingers over every part of her face. "Baby, you had me so scared." She whispered, still holding her daughter's face close to hers. Lilly nodded and kissed Rory's cheek.

Jess stood back a bit more awkwardly since he didn't want to intrude on the mother/daughter moment. He was brought closer when Lilly saw him, and beckoned him forward with, "Hey, Dad." It melted his heart. He stepped closer, and placed his arm on Rory's shoulder, making her jump. He leaned forward to kiss Lilly's forehead, and pretended like he hadn't seen Rory beaming at him.

"Next time you scare us like that, you're grounded." He joked. Lilly giggled at how he was already falling into his fatherly duties. They stayed like that for a few more minutes before calling their family members. In all the chaos, they had forgotten to even call any of their loved ones.

"I have to go." Jess told the Gilmore girls after their last guest had left. They both looked at him sadly, and he regretted that he wanted to go and think for a bit. "I'm coming back tomorrow. So, bye. Love you." He said as he walked out of the room.

He had caught a glimpse of Rory's eyes as he walked out, and the way she looked at him could have made his knees buckle. She was someone he hated to love. But he couldn't help it, she had been the best thing to happen to him, and then she gave him the greatest gift of Lilly. He walked a bit faster when he heard a bit of the conversation between the girls.

"You love him." It had been Lilly. Jess loved Rory, too. He just had too much on his mind to fully love her the way he wanted to.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Ok guys. This is it, the final chapter before the epilogue! Oh my word it has been a fantastic ride with y'all. Thank you for staying with me throughout this story for the past few months and for staying with it even though I have been the annoying bitchy writer. I'm just so happy to have finally finished this, and I can't wait to hear from y'all. But can I stop for a moment to talk about the freakin' revival! Good night! I frankly think it mirrors my other story Mayday (which I am currently recommending since I am still working on that one). Ok well, I should let y'all get to reading, and don't forget to review! Happy reading, and I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving weekend.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _How long has it taken me to find you?  
Five hundred year, five hundred thousand miles  
It don't matter now, love's always on time  
Meet me underneath the Oklahoma sky_

 _-"Oklahoma Sky" Miranda Lambert_

He kept true to his promise that he would visit the next day. He came every day after that as well. He just wasn't always mentally present. He would imagine he was at the bridge, and he was not in the same room as her. He would slip into his thoughts, and neither girl would ever bring him from them. Especially Rory. She kept her distance because she didn't think she could bare to know his thoughts on her at that moment.

Lilly spent a majority of her time on the couch while she did her homework and invited friends over. It gave both adults a lot of free time to mull over their situation. Rory spent her time worrying about him never coming back; Jess spent his time hoping he hadn't damaged their relationship beyond repair.

He knew now that he wasn't angry at her. He had been mad when she told him, but he couldn't hold a grudge against her. He did keep his distance in fear that he would be thinking about that moment and say something hurtful. He really didn't want to hurt her.

Nearly a week had passed since the incident, and they still didn't speak to each other directly. Whenever they said anything it was usually to Lilly, but it could be a topic for anyone in the room. Rory tried to keep from bursting into tears every time she saw the blank look in his eyes. She didn't want him to be blank when he was with her.

Jess spent the other part of his time at the bridge. Rory knew that, but she never did anything about it. He said he needed time, and she was giving it to him. No matter how much it was killing her. So, she had been extremely mad at her legs for randomly taking her to the bridge while she out running errands. He hadn't been there, and she knew that because he had said he would be in Hartford that day.

Rory was beyond surprised when Jess walked up behind her. He looked tired, and she knew she was the reason for it. She had caused too much strife for the both of them. "I'll leave. I'm sorry, I know this is your spot." She sputtered, standing next to him.

"It's our spot." He gave her pause. She turned from the edge of the bridge and slowly retraced her steps. "You have every right to be here as much as I do. It was our spot where everything major happened to us." He took a few paces toward her. She fought the urge to turn back, but the look in his eyes (no longer blank and empty) kept her firmly rooted.

Rory realized that she wanted to speak, but her voice was caught in her throat. "I know you think I hate you." Jess spoke again. She opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by his hand. "I don't. I could never hate you, Ror. Don't you see that?" She was speechless. How could she reply to him?

"I'm sorry." She choked out, barely finding her voice. Jess sat down on the edge of the bridge, and patted for her to follow suit. She did without question. She cared more that he was wanting to talk to her.

"I'm forgiving you," He moved closer to her. "Because I can't live without you." He pushed a stray hair away from her glistening, blue eyes. "I love you, Ror. I have for twenty-one years. The moment I saw you, and I can't live without you." He brushed the tears falling from her gorgeous eyes, and waited for her to speak.

"I love you, too. Oh my gosh, I love you so much." She cried. Jess smiled, and in turn made Rory smile despite her tears. Their happiness escalated when he leaned in and put their smiles together.

"Marry me." His voice was breathy when they pulled apart. Rory stared at him confused. "I can't live without you. W-we have a kid. It's perfect. I need you, Rory. Please say you'll marry me." He was as close to begging as Jess Mariano could get. Rory smiled at him before kissing him again.

"Yes, I'll marry you." She saw the relief on his face, and pulled him in again. After they parted, she let him envelope her in his loving embrace. As they sat there, it began to snow. Rory smiled up at the sky, and how perfect this was. "Next week." She told him. Jess nodded, kissed her temple and let the snow fall around them like a snow globe.

"Let's get coffee. This is getting too _Hallmark Channel_ for me." So they walked to Luke's hand in hand, identical smiles on their faces. Finally, something was going right for them.

 **XXX**

The wedding preparations had been quick and easy. Rory was going to wear Lorelai's dress (every mother's dream), and it would be held at the church with the reception in the square. Lilly had helped with most of it since she was on bedrest forever. She had been excited to hear that her parents were actually getting married, something that was almost unheard of in their family.

They had invited the entire town (besides the Foresters and Mark), Christopher and Gigi, and even Jimmy, Sasha, and Lily were able to fly in for the event. Liz was making jewelry for all the women in the bridal party which consisted of Lorelai as the maid of honor, Paris, Lane, and Lilly. Jess didn't even have to ask Luke to be his best man, and he had called Matt and Chris to come up from Philly. There wasn't a fourth groomsmen, but Jess had asked Lee to help get Lilly down the aisle before her mother.

The morning of the wedding, the women had kicked Jess out of the house. They spent the entire morning putting on makeup and getting dressed, and then reapplying makeup because Rory and Lorelai would randomly burst into tears of joy. Lilly smiled at the chaos of it all because she had been missing anything fun happening since her surgery.

Rory had to have her makeup reapplied again when Lilly had decided after everyone had been ready to exclaim, "My mom's getting married to my dad!" She had not thought out the repercussions of saying that. It also sent Lorelai and Liz into rounds of tears that their kids were getting married. It took probably too much time, but they were finally able to go to the church.

Since there were only 58 seats, some people had to be standing in the back. It had made Jess laugh that so many people had wanted to go to his wedding, but he knew it was mostly for Rory. He had smiled brightly when Lilly (the last bridesmaid) came walking down the aisle holding tightly onto Lee's arm. His daughter was an amazing young woman.

Though he swore his heart stopped when Rory entered the church. He hadn't paid attention to how the dress had looked on Lorelai during her wedding to Luke, but he was taking in every detail with it on the woman he loved. Her eyes shined with tears as Christopher walked her down the aisle, and for the first time in his life, Jess himself could feel happy tears in his eyes.

The ceremony had been short and sweet. They wrote their own vows, mostly the normal sappy stuff, and Lilly had been more than happy to hold the rings for her parents. She had been given a chair to sit on so she wouldn't strain herself. Jess had been far too eager to kiss Rory when Reverend Skinner finally said, "You may kiss the bride." They stayed in the position for at least a minute, and finally broke apart when Doula dog whistled.

They walked out of the church and made a run for the square where heaters had been set up. Everyone followed just as quickly (not Lilly and Lee since she technically couldn't run), and the reception was in full swing. Kirk had somehow convinced them to let him DJ. It seemed to be going fine when he didn't mess up "In Your Eyes" for their first dance as husband and wife.

Rory had decided that she would dance with both Christopher and Luke, and Jess had begrudgingly agreed to dance with Liz. He did however, convince Lilly to dance with him. She had to sit down half way through because her stomach hurt, but Doula came to her brother's rescue. It had been mostly a family dance for the first few songs, but soon the entire town joined in. Emily had even said yes when Taylor asked her to dance.

The night did eventually come to a close near midnight. Lilly had fallen asleep on Lee's shoulder, and a majority of the towns people had gone to bed. In the end, it had just been Jess and Rory dancing on the dance floor while Kirk tried to stay awake to play the songs they chose. They had finally agreed to go home when Kirk had fallen asleep on the turn table, and Lilly had asked to go home to Lorelai's.

They dropped Lilly off at her grandparents' before heading to the apartment above Luke's. They could have had the honeymoon suite at the Dragonfly, but they didn't want to be that close to their friends and family who were staying there. Plus, at Luke's they had actual food in the fridge and downstairs.

Rory had been the first one out of the car after dropping off Lilly. She raced to the diner that was still unlocked, and stepped inside with Jess on her heals. He caught her off guard when he pulled the veil from her once perfectly done hair, and spun her around to meet his lips. She smiled into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They almost couldn't make it up the stairs with how enamored they were with each other's mouths. "I love you." She panted. Jess pulled back to look at her with his love filled eyes.

"Good, cause that whole thing we did back there would have been a waste of time." He then dragged her to the bed. They barely had time to say anything before they toppled over, partly from the wine and partly from their minds too filled with love to do anything else but fall.

 **XXX**

It had been a unanimous vote by the two of them to not go on a honeymoon. They wanted to spend their first Christmas together as a family, and a honeymoon would get in the way. Also, there were a ridiculous number of medical bills to pay that kept them from spending too much money. It didn't keep them from having a good Christmas.

Lilly and Rory had introduced Jess to some of their traditions which he embraced whole heartedly. They made lots of different desserts, and spent a lot of their time in front of the TV and fireplace. They watched too many Christmas movies for their own good, and Lilly couldn't help but play _The Polar Express_ soundtrack on repeat. The house was very noisy those days leading up to Christmas.

They had Christmas Eve dinner at Luke and Lorelai's, and after too much talking and coffee, they finally headed to their own home. Lilly and Rory played all the Christmas episodes of _Friends_ while drinking peppermint hot chocolate. Jess had stayed in the kitchen where he was wrapping a few last minute gifts for the women in his life. He hadn't even let Lilly see what he had picked out for Rory, he had a feeling that she would accidentally blab.

What were formerly known as the Gilmore girls, fell asleep at exactly 1:03 on Christmas morning. Jess had thought it was a joke when they said that was the exact time they fell asleep every Christmas. He was very much wrong. He had to pry the egg nog out of their hands, and help support them up the stairs like the good husband and father he was.

That morning, Lilly had been surprised to wake up in her bed since she remembered falling asleep on the couch with her mom. That train of thought didn't last long when she came to the realization that it was Christmas morning. She raced into her parents' room without even checking the time. "Mom, Dad, get up!" She tugged at the comforter like the eager child she was.

"Jess, go start the fire please." Rory moved closer to her husband (she still couldn't believe she was calling him that). Lilly nodded quickly, bouncing up and down on her heal no longer tired. Jess groggily sat up, and headed toward the stairs like he was asked to. Lilly hopped into bed with her mother; she was happy this year to have both parents.

The two former Gilmore girls decided they couldn't leave Jess alone downstairs too long. They reached the base of the stairs and were met with a larger pile of presents than they had gone to sleep with and a roaring fire. Rory stepped forward and kissed Jess as Lilly made her way to the tree. "Merry Christmas." Jess whispered against his wife's lips.

"Merry Christmas!" Lilly jumped behind them holding two gifts. They turned to their daughter, grinning as they took the gifts.

They all got a family for Christmas, much better than any other material item they could have gotten. Lilly had thought that she might still believe in Santa because she got exactly what she wanted. A dad for Christmas. The three of them sat close on the couch while opening their gifts. Each thinking the same thing: best Christmas ever.

 **AN 2: I know that you all wanted Rory punished (I didn't want to say anything in the above AN so I started a new one down here), but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I think that in all seriousness, Jess would be upset, freeze her out for a while, but eventually come to his senses because (as we saw in the revival) he loves her so much. And she loves him as well. I hope you liked the wedding, short and sweet. And next is the epilogue. Just one last thank you to all that have stayed with me and are looking forward to the epilogue.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Oh my gosh you guys! This is it! The epilogue! I just have to thank you all again for sticking with me through this story, through the good moments and bad, through Jess finding out Lilly is his, and through that little while where they weren't talking because of their bad date. I just gotta say, I love y'all, and I'm thankful for all of my readers. I'm really sad that this is over, but it gives me time to focus on Mayday and anything else I plan to write. If you have already read Seeing the Light I recommend that since it's post revival. Anyway, thank you all again so much for sticking with me these past few months. Happy reading, and please write one last review for Gravity is a Bitch.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 _I met a girl  
She made me smile  
She made me wait  
She crossed the street  
She crossed my heart  
She fixed her dress  
She bit her lip  
She let me up  
I met a girl  
With crazy shoes  
And baby blues  
The way she moves  
Is changing my whole world  
I met a girl_

 _-"I Met a Girl" William Michael Morgan_

Lilly walked into the house quietly. So quietly that when the floorboard creaked she nearly jumped out of her skin. She had gotten home much later than expected, and her parents would kill her if she was too loud. She took her duffle bag, and creeped up the staircase checking that she missed all the noisy steps. She stepped into her room, or what she thought was her room, and stood confusedly.

The walls were pink, and there was a kid's bed and a crib next to it. This was not her room. Lilly placed her bag in the hallway and walked down to her parents' room. She unlatched the door quieter than she had ever done before, so she didn't wake her sleeping parents. She stepped over to her dad's side of the bed because if she disturbed her mom, Jess would try and ground her even though she was in college.

"Dad?" She whisper-yelled while poking his side. Jess stirred slightly, but didn't fully wake up. "Dad!" She poked his side a bit harder. That woke him up. He looked at his oldest child completely taken aback.

"Lill?" He asked rubbing sleep from his eyes, and letting go of Rory's waist.

"Dad, what happened to my room?" She asked. Jess still didn't understand what was going on. He sat up a bit more.

"Nothing. It's the same as you left it." He flinched when Rory began to stir. She didn't wake up fully and both father and daughter let out soft breaths. Lilly shook her head, and threw her arms up.

"No, it's pink. And it has kid's beds." She tried to explain. Jess rolled his eyes, wondering how tired, drunk, or high his daughter was.

"Lill, you walked into the nursery again." He ran his hand over his face tiredly. Lilly let that sink in, and nodded slowly. "You need to learn to count." He told her as she finally realized her mistake. She had been messing up on which door went to her room ever since her sister had been born three years previous.

"Oops. My bad. G'night, Daddy!" She hopped up and kissed her father's cheek. Jess rolled his eyes, as she skipped down the hallway oblivious to the fact that she kept forgetting which room was hers. He had started to drift off the sleep when he heard someone coming into his room again.

"Daddy, there's a monster in my room." Emily ran up to his side of the bed. He picked up his younger daughter, and looked at the door that Lilly had just walked out of. "Can I sleep with you and Mommy?" She asked, shining her Gilmore blue eyes. He was a sucker when it came to his girls.

"Sure, but that wasn't a monster. It's something worse: Lilly's home." He realized now that he shouldn't have said that. Now, Emily would never go to sleep because she was too excited to see her sister the next morning. He groaned when his back got kicked by their second soccer player. He envied Rory's sleeping abilities.

 **XXX**

Lilly woke up kind of early the next morning. She had gotten on a schedule while at Yale with all of her early classes. Her senior year was almost all morning classes, so that she would have the afternoons free to do homework or hang out with her friends.

The one thing Lilly loved about coming home was that she knew her kitchen, and she could do whatever she wanted in it. She made a strong batch of coffee for herself, and then began making pancakes. She had them in a perfect stack before she cleaned up her mess. She nearly jumped when her mother came down and hugged her from behind.

"Hey, Mom." Lilly turned around to hug her mother whom she missed dearly. "Why are you up this early?" It was around seven, and she knew that since Emily had been born her parents got really good at sleeping in when they could. Rory sat down at the table and placed a pancake on her own plate.

"Morning sickness. Which went nearly completely away after three months with you and Emily. This one is still going strong at five months." She pointed to her stomach. "And Em slept with us last night, she kicks worse than you ever did." Lilly nodded along as she sat down with her cup of coffee and a few pancakes.

Before Lilly could reply, Emily came running into the kitchen and attached herself to her big sister's legs. "Don't go back to college." She exclaimed when Lilly tried to stand up and hug Jess who had followed Emily closely. Lilly picked up her little sister and placed her in her lap, playing at the brown curls that looked like her own.

"I'm here every weekend, Brontë." She kissed her sister's head using the nickname she had come up minutes after she was born. Her parents claimed they had named her after Great Grandma, but Lilly had a feeling that it was also based on Emily Brontë. She already had a nickname picked out for Amelia, who would go by Mia after the woman who had helped Lorelai so many years ago.

"Lill, you woke up your sister last night." Jess said, coffee in hand. He hadn't gotten much sleep the past night thanks to Lilly's late night confusion. She smirked slightly and shrugged, hugging her sister tighter. "I'm sending her to you next time you wake her up." He threatened. Emily smiled brightly and nodded her head eagerly. Lilly took on a look of horror that her sister couldn't see.

"What time is Lee coming over?" Rory quickly changed the subject before Emily got her little three-year-old heart broken when she realized how neither wanted her to come to them in the middle of the night. Lilly blushed a bright red, and Jess knew he would have to look out for the blond UConn student. Even though Lilly was twenty-two, he still acted like she was sixteen and much too young to date.

"It's seven in the morning, so five this evening." She laughed in reply. Rory smiled and took a sip of her decaf coffee. Being pregnant sucked, but the result was always pretty good. "That gives me the whole day with Brontë." She tickled Emily's stomach, and couldn't contain her laughter when she heard the little girl's giggles. She very much enjoyed coming home for the weekends.

 **XXX**

She was so close to sleep when her father came back into the room. He had been dressed in scrubs, and Lilly stood up immediately waiting his answer. "Amelia Elizabeth Mariano, 7 lbs. 9 oz. 19 ½ inches." He proudly stated hugging his eldest daughter. Lilly smiled brightly, and woke up Emily who had been sleeping on top of a few coats.

"Can we see Mom?" Lilly asked happily. Jess nodded, and picked up Emily to go to see Rory. The eldest Mariano daughter had to keep from squealing when she saw her mom and new baby sister. She came and sat next to her tired looking mother. "Aww, Mama, she's so cute!" Lilly was handed her youngest sister.

Emily came up next to her older sister, and stared intently at the new addition to their family. Rory and Jess smiled at their three girls, and laughed when Emily scrunched up her face in disgust. It would take some time, but she would get used to the idea of being a big sister. "You've already got a nickname don't you?" Rory yawned and smiled when Emily snuggled up to her while Jess held Mia.

"Pond, like Amelia Pond. That or Genovia like from _The Princess Diaries_. I'm still deciding." She hugged the woman who had raised her. Rory let out a soft chuckle, and then watched her husband with their newest baby. "So like, what is it with our family and extremely large age gaps between kids?" Lilly asked the moment her grandparents walked in.

"Age is but a number, Kid." Lorelai told her eldest grandchild before prying the newest one from Jess's arms. Emily glared at her grandmother, and Lilly held back her laugh at her sister's misfortune. Thankfully, Luke gave some attention to Em so that she didn't feel all left out. "Ooh, this needs a picture." Lorelai told her daughter and son-in-law when she handed the baby back to Rory.

She pulled out her phone, and snapped a picture just in time to see Emily and Lilly making silly faces, and Jess and Rory looking down at Mia lovingly. Lilly grabbed the phone away from her grandmother and smirked. "That's a keeper." She passed the phone around to their family. "We could hang it on the mantel!" She stated.

 **XXX**

Even though Lilly was so much older than her sisters, they still had a great relationship. Every week (not quite as often after Lilly married Lee, and even less when she had kids of her own) the three Mariano girls would go out and get dinner, dessert, then went to Lilly's house (once she had gotten her own) for a sleepover. Usually that was on Saturdays, but the girls' lives got more hectic, and the Saturdays only came once or twice a month.

So Lilly sat in her car waiting for her sisters to get out of school. They had decided for some odd reason to go to Chilton, and their parents had been cool with it. Especially since Jess's book had been a New York Times Bestseller. No one was letting him forget that. Mostly his wife. Lilly smiled back at her own two kids, Fitz and Reilly. Fitz for Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Reilly for Lorelai. The kids were doted upon by their aunts.

Mia and Emily came running to the car, and Lilly jokingly shouted, "Get in losers! We're going shopping!" Eliciting chuckles from her much younger sisters. "So, any mischief at school today?" She asked them, and huffed when both her sisters shook their heads.

"We're more like Mom." Emily stated proudly, and Mia rolled her eyes. Lilly waited for a fight to break out. While she had a great relationship with the two of them, Mia and Emily didn't always get along. Most likely because of how close in age they were, and the fact that Lilly only saw them when it was fun; not when they were able to get on her every nerve.

"Speaking of Mom," She but in to make sure they wouldn't escalate into a fight. "I'm dropping off Fitz and Reilly off at the parents' house, so you two can grab your stuff." She started the car towards Stars Hollow. Lilly looked over and saw Emily fidget in her plaid skirt, and she still wondered how the kid was able to go to such a ritzy private school. Poor kid had totally inherited the Mariano side of things no matter how much she denied it.

Mia though. Mia was practically their mother's reincarnate. She was bookish, and quiet, and much too nice for her own good. She had accidentally accepted someone's promposal her Freshman year, and still went (even though she didn't want to) because it was the nice thing to do. She had been banned from babysitting Fitz and Reilly since she had been too nice to put them to bed and given them too much candy.

They all hopped out of the car as it pulled into the driveway of Crap Shack 2.0. Lilly was surprised and happy to see their father's car in the driveway as well as their mom's. She had barely undone Fitz's seatbelt when he ran into the house before everyone else. He was just like Lee had been at seven. Reilly, though, needed help getting up the stairs since she was only two. She did squeal as soon as she was inside her grandparents' home.

Lilly had heard her sisters head up the stairs to pack, so she followed the sound of insistent giggling to the kitchen where her children were. She smiled when she saw her father with both her kids propped on his knee, and her mother holding a large cup of coffee her way.

"You're the reason they won't listen to me!" Lilly jokingly pointed at her parents. They smiled and continued to dote on her children. Even after thirty-six years, they didn't listen to her. Well, twenty years for her father, but they didn't talk about that. "Mama, Daddy, you need to make sure those two raise a little more hell." She slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she had said in front of her very young, very impressionable children.

"We do that with yours." Rory smiled into her coffee mug. "You keep saying Fitz is like Lee, but I remember there being a little blue eyed girl who was much worse than Lee." Lilly grinned brightly at her mother.

"And if Reills is anything like you at sixteen… Good luck!" Jess handed Reilly a cookie. She gobbled on it happily, completely unaware of the situation before her. Lill threw a cookie at her dad's head and giggled.

"Oh please, the worst I did was…" She trailed off and got a worried look in her eyes. "Don't tell her any stories of me." She fake-begged. Her parents laughed, and they continued to sit in a comfortable silence. Lilly rolled her eyes in annoyance, and she started to stand when Emily finally bounded down the stairs.

"Bye, Mom and Dad." Emily hugged and kissed their parents. Mia soon followed suit once she came down the stairs. Lilly was almost out the door when Jess stopped her.

"Good luck, Princess." He smirked and kissed her forehead. Lilly smiled and hugged her father tightly.

"Love you, Daddy." She beamed as she followed her sisters out the door. She saw them waiting by her minivan (Lilly never thought she would own one of those), breaking into a run. She tripped and fell flat into a pile of leaves, giggling loudly. Emily and Mia rolled their eyes before jumping on top of their sister and rolling around in the leaves.

"Hey!" They shot up when they saw their parents shouting through the open window. Each girl caught the others' eye, and they made a run for it.

"You'll never catch us, Coppers!" Lilly screamed in an extremely odd voice while she jumped into the driver's seat.

"No, not the Fuzz!" Emily yelled out the open window.

"You guys used all the good cop nick names!" Mia exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Dorks!" Was the last thing they heard their parents say before heading to their girls' night.


End file.
